


Find My Way

by bansheee



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blind Albus Potter, Blind Character, Community: HPFT, First Love, Harry Potter Next Generation, Hate to Love, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, LGBTQ Character, Love/Hate, M/M, Misunderstandings, Nerd Scorpius, Original Character(s), Pining, Teen Angst, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 02:06:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6684931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bansheee/pseuds/bansheee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a small thud as Albus Potter walked into the table, and Scorpius looked up when the boy started chuckling. "Sorry, wasn’t watching where I was going."</p><p>Scorpius opened his mouth, completely at a loss for words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. one

If someone asked Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy what the worst thing about his birth was, they’d probably be surprised by his answer. Scorpius wouldn’t say that it was his family’s long standing tradition of having one child, meaning he didn’t have any siblings. No, it wouldn’t be that he got cursed with a weird hairline and a pointy nose from his arse of a father. It wouldn’t even be the dreadful name, _Scorpius Hyperion_. Scorpius would tell the asker that the worst thing about being born, was that there wasn’t _one_ other magical child his age who had an initial that started with an M, or an N, or even an O, in the greater Britain area.  
  
For Scorpius, this meant that he was assigned to work with Albus Potter when Professor Longbottom went down his roster and paired his N.E.W.T. Herbology students off.  
  
“Neville, why!?” Scorpius looked down to his table when Albus Potter called out in anguish from the back of the room. Several snickers from his group of friends followed.  
  
“It’s Professor Longbottom, Albus,” he replied with little heat. When Scorpius looked back up, he saw the Herbology Professor shaking his head and trying to hide a smile. Before Albus could speak again, Professor Longbottom said, “Poulter and Quintin…” Scorpius could hardly hold back his sigh as he listened to Longbottom read off the rest of the pairs.  
  
The shuffling of seats had Scorpius looking up, so he shifted his sprawled out textbook over and pulled his knapsack off of the empty seat next to him. Professor Longbottom hadn’t assigned seats for their start of term, and Scorpius liked sitting in the front so he didn’t have to wear his glasses.  
  
There was a small thud as Albus Potter walked into his table, and Scorpius looked up when the boy started chuckling. “Sorry, wasn’t watching where I was going.”  
  
Scorpius opened his mouth, completely at a loss for words.  
  
“It was a joke, Malfoy,” Albus said a few seconds later, the corner of his mouth lifting to a smirk. Scorpius looked away from the smile, and down to the boy’s untidy red and gold tie. Instinctively, he reached to his own neck and straightened his out. He watched as Albus ran his hand along the back of the chair before sitting in it. When Albus stuck his whole arm into his bag to feel around Scorpius turned back to the parchment in front of him. With a delighted noise, Albus tugged a copy – about twice the size of Scorpius’ tome – of _Flesh Eating Trees of the World_ out of his bag and dropped it on the desk. The thud caused Scorpius to run a line of ink across his page and tear it.  
  
Letting out a heavy sigh, Scorpius crumpled the paper into a ball. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Albus smirking as he leafed through the pages of his book.  
  
“Alright then,” Professor Longbottom said as the last of the students found their new partners and seats. “We’re going to jump right into things. You’re here because you could understand basic magical botany, so I don’t expect to be doing a lot of hospital runs this lesson.” The class chuckled when Professor Longbottom looked pointedly towards the back of the class. Today we’ll be working on a particularly favorite plant of mine.” When Longbottom turned around and grinned at the plants behind him, Scorpius and the rest of the class followed his glance. Except for Albus, who was running his fingers along his book and scribbling on a piece of parchment next to him.  
  
As Professor Longbottom walked around the table he talked about the plant. “ _Mimbulus Mimbletonia_ belongs to the _Cactaceae_ family, and is most widely known for its production of Stinksap when prodded. Stinksap is used in a wide variety of potions and remedies, and is what you will be harvesting today.” He looked around the room. “If I could have one person from each table come up to get a plant and vials, while the other starts researching the _correct_ way to harvest. I’ll be collecting three vials and one parchment with ten things _not_ to do when harvesting Stinksap at the end of the lesson. Which I’m sure some of you will learn rather quickly.” He grinned when the classroom filled with several chuckles.  
  
They were freed to work, and Scorpius pushed his chair back to get the plants. At the sound of the chair scraping across the greenhouse floor, Albus finally turned to him.  
  
“I’m going to get the plant,” Scorpius said, unsure if he needed to. He glanced down to Albus’ copy of the class text and looked to where the boy’s hand had stilled on the page. “So can you—”  
  
“—got it, Malfoy. I’ll stay here so I don’t break anything.” Albus’ tone was a mix of irritation and sarcastic joy at the chance to snark back. Scorpius watched him for a second as Albus’ hand started moving across the page again. His other hand dropped the quill he was holding and moved up to run through his unruly black hair, making it stick up more than it already had been. Realizing he was staring, Scorpius shook his head and walked up to gather their supplies. He avoided Professor Longbottom’s grin as he picked out the least intimidating of the smelly cactus looking things, and grabbed the three required vials.  
  
Albus didn’t give him any notion that he noticed Scorpius was back with the plant, so he cleared his throat.  
  
“Yeah, see, that’s the thing,” Albus said, lifting his head with an annoyed expression. “I heard you dragging your feet back here and setting the plant on the table, and can freaking smell the thing right he—” Albus gestured towards the plant, but moved his hand too far and hit it, causing several boils to burst all over his arm and torso.  
  
Albus let out a disgruntled shout and stood from his chair. All Scorpius could do was stare as Albus shook his arm, trying to fling the foul smelling Stinksap off of it. When Scorpius’ robe got the front line of the attack, he finally snapped out of his trance.  
  
“Stop! Potter stop!” Scorpius shouted. He looked around to see the other Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students staring at them. By some sort of miracle Albus listened to him, and froze in his spot with his arm in the air.  
  
Ignoring the laughter from several of their classmates, Albus dragged his hand down his torso and grimaced. “It smells so bad,” he whined to himself.  
  
When Scorpius was sure that Albus wasn’t going to knock the plant over freaking out, he looked down to his own book to start figuring out what to do.  
  
“Oh, come on!” Scorpius complained at the puddle of Stinksap in the middle of the page. Tugging out his wand, he pointed at the page and muttered, “ _Scourgify_.” When the Stinksap gave a pathetic shiver and stayed, he waved his wand and repeated the spell louder.  
  
“It’s not going to work,” Albus said after Scorpius tried a third time, reaching for his chair and sitting as he talked. “It can’t be extracted by magic, so it can’t be cleaned by magic either.”  
  
“What?” Scorpius replied, turning to him.  
  
“I _said_ , it can’t—”  
  
“I heard you,” Scorpius interrupted. “How am I supposed to do the assignment without a textbook?”  
  
Albus’ grin was feral. “Well you could use mine.”  
  
Frowning, Scorpius said, “You know I can’t.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah,” Albus replied, still grinning. Sliding his parchment over across the table, he added, “I started writing them already. You can add ‘don’t punch the plant’ as number seven while I start extracting.”  
  
Scorpius looked up from the boy’s messy scrawl. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”  
  
Albus’ smile dropped. “Why wouldn’t it be?” his tone was challenging, and Scorpius knew the boy was just trying to rile him up.  
  
“Fine,” Scorpius snapped. “Just don’t get any more on my book.”  
  
In neater writing, Scorpius added Albus’ number seven. Piecing messily written phrases together, Scorpius read through Albus’ other bullet points as Albus stood from his chair again.  
  
“Can you please hand me one of the vials,” Albus asked a moment later, tone clinical. He held his hand out to Scorpius. Scorpius grabbed the vial from next to Albus’ inkwell, and placed it in the boy’s palm. Enthralled, Scorpius watched as Albus ran careful fingers over one of the branches. The plant made a weirdly satisfied noise while Albus filled the vial with the Stinksap.  
  
“Another,” Albus muttered, holding out his empty hand. Scorpius stood with him, and handed him another vial so he could keep collecting from the plant. Soon enough, they managed to fill their three required vials.  
  
After capping them off, Scorpius looked down to their list. “We still need two more things not to do.”  
  
“The book said not to shout at it, and not to extract more than once a month,” Albus said, tapping his own textbook with a nod. Scorpius added them to the list, and after neatly signing his name next to Albus’ scribble, placed it in a clean spot on the desk.  
  
When Scorpius looked to Albus again, the boy was already turned to the table behind him and talking to one of his friends. With another sigh, Scorpius grabbed the parchment and the plant and brought it to the front of the room.  
  
They were dismissed shortly after, and Scorpius stared at his soiled textbook as his classmates ran out of the greenhouse. The Stinksap was already eating through the pages. He could probably get his parents to send a new copy by the weekend if he wrote today, even though they’d be annoyed that he managed to ruin his brand new textbook on his very first day of classes. He considered just using the library copy for the rest of the year as he walked back to the castle. That way, he wouldn’t have to write home on his first day. Knowing it wasn’t feasible, Scorpius dumped the textbook into the rubbish bin inside the castle and planned a trip to the Owlery for later in the week.  
  
Grateful that Herbology was over, Scorpius walked into the Great Hall to grab lunch before his Double Potions lesson.  
  
His sour mood finally broke when he saw Jia sitting at the Ravenclaw table, and he smiled when she waved to him. She was talking in rapid-fire Chinese across the table to their other friend, Oliver.  
  
“You need to talk slower!” Oliver complained in English. “I can understand you when you don’t speak so fast!” Scorpius chuckled as he dropped his things on the table to join them.  
  
“Still having trouble?” Scorpius asked the dark-skinned boy.  
  
Oliver frowned at him. “I think it’s my teacher,” he muttered as he leveled his eyes at Jia.  
  
“Just wait until we start Slavic languages next month,” she replied. Scorpius watched as she suddenly scrunched her nose. “You smell terrible.”  
  
“I hate Herbology,” Scorpius replied sourly. He grabbed a few of the sandwiches off of one of the large platters and a handful of crisps. “I hate it. And I hate Albus Potter, while we’re at it.”  
  
“Well,” Oliver replied, pushing his glasses up his freckled nose, “You need Herbology if you want to be a Potions Master one day.”  
  
“And, we’re well aware of your _feelings_ towards Albus.”  
  
Scorpius swallowed his food and narrowed his eyes at Jia. “Don’t say it like that.”  
  
Jia grinned, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “What happened? Is he still—”  
  
“It’s worse,” Scorpius muttered. “He just despises me. Whatever I say or do…” Scorpius let his sentence trail off and sighed. “And Longbottom paired us together today.” He looked up to Oliver. “I know she can’t, so will you _please_ reconsider taking the N.E.W.T. with me?”  
  
Oliver chuckled. “As much as I will miss Longbottom’s insane lessons, there is no way in hell I want to take classes outside for another year.”  
  
Scorpius sighed. “It’s all Gryffindors. Elias Corner is the _only_ other ‘Claw. And all Elias does is talk about which plants he can light up.” He looked down to the Ravenclaw table to see the boy tugging a bowl of crisps away from his friends and dumping the whole thing onto his plate.  
  
A loud wave of voices filled the entrance of the Great Hall, and Scorpius turned to see Albus and his Gryffindor friends laughing loudly as they headed for their table.  
  
Scorpius rolled his eyes and turned back to his friends. “He destroyed my new Herbology book.”  
  
Jia faked a gasp. “Oh no! However will you learn about trees that eat humans now!?”  
  
“Funny,” Scorpius deadpanned. “At least he got it all over himself more.” Scorpius looked over to the Gryffindor table, where Albus was running his hand over a hole in his robes. “I want to get to Potions early. Nott hands out the required texts, and I don’t want a scribbled over copy. Are you coming with?” He turned and asked both Jia and Oliver. When they both responded in the negative, he stood from the bench and left the Great Hall.  
  
“I’m fine, Lily.”  
  
Just reaching the staircase towards the Dungeons, Scorpius turned at the sound of the familiar voice. Right behind him, Albus had left the Great Hall with a young red-head, whom Scorpius knew to be his little sister. The two Potters didn’t see him, so Scorpius stopped to watch the exchange.  
  
“There are holes in your uniform!” the small girl said, poking him in the chest. “What on earth happened?”  
  
Albus ignored her, and continued to unfold his cane with a practiced ease. “Nothing. Herbology happened. I can walk to the bloody Common Room and change by myself, Lily. I’m not a child.” Albus walked past her, the stick guiding him towards the staircase going up.  
  
Scorpius watched as the red-head sighed, staring after her brother. She turned a second later and caught Scorpius’ gaze.  
  
“What are you doing here?” she snapped, causing Albus to stop in the middle of the staircase.  
  
Scorpius was at a loss for words, but thankfully Albus spoke instead. “Who’s there?” he asked Lily.  
  
“Malfoy.”  
  
“Ah. Can I send your parents my Madam Malkin’s bill?” the boy asked, using his empty hand to touch the hole in his robes.  
  
“It was your fault!” Scorpius argued defensively as he ran back up the stairs. “I should make you pay for my new textbook!”  
  
“Wow,” Lily said from between them. “Way to blame the blind kid, arse.”  
  
“Shut up, Lily,” Albus snapped. Scorpius could see his knuckles going white from gripping his cane. “Malfoy, it’s been another bloody pleasure. This was twice as many times as I’d have liked to talk to you today.” He turned and continued making his way up the steps, using the banister and his cane to tell him when the staircase ended.  
  
After Albus disappeared out of sight, Lily turned on Scorpius. Fixing a glare on him, the girl stared for a moment, before rolling her eyes and heading back for the Great Hall.  
  
Thoroughly distracted from the whole interaction, Scorpius nearly plowed over a group of lost first years on his way to the Dungeons. He tried not to let the whole interaction with the Potters ruin his excitement about going to Potions. He even went so far as to tug his glasses out of his knapsack so he could focus on learning instead of reading half blurry words.  
  
Professor Nott looked up when Scorpius opened the classroom door.  
  
“Mr. Malfoy,” he said with a warm smile. The Nott’s were old friends of his father’s, and Scorpius always loved spending time with Theo whenever he and his husband visited.  
  
“Hello, Professor,” Scorpius said back, matching the smile.  
  
Professor Nott stood from his desk, setting down his quill. “I should have guessed you’d be the first—” When his teacher paused, Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows. “What happened to your tie?”  
  
Scorpius looked down and inhaled sharply. Except for two inches of fabric and the knot around his neck, his tie was melted off by Stinksap. Bewildered, he looked up to see Professor Nott laughing at him.  
  
Holding back an anguished cry, Scorpius tugged the charred fabric and shoved it into his bag. He would not let Albus Potter ruin Potions class for him, especially since he overheard the boy telling his friends he wouldn’t be advancing to the N.E.W.T. class.  
  
He tried to focus on the new year as he leafed through his copy of _Advanced Potion-Making_. He thought about his new classes, and pushed aside the thoughts trickling in about the brilliant slate green of Albus’ eyes.


	2. two

“You can’t take it with.”  
  
Scorpius narrowed his eyes at the student helper in the Library, and tucked the school’s copy of _Flesh Eating Trees of the World_ further under his arm. “It’s a library book! That’s the point of the books in the library, to check them out.”  
  
The girl – a Gryffindor Prefect a year younger than him– rolled her eyes. “Copies of texts that students _should have_ can’t be taken out of the library in case other students need to use them.”  
  
“ _I_ need to use it,” Scorpius argued. He kept his gaze towards her to avoid looking towards the tables and chairs filled with students talking and revising loudly.  
  
“Feel free to use the book as much as you’d like in here. We’ll be open until five.”  
  
Scorpius gaped at her. “Five!? But it’s a Sunday! This reading is due tomorrow.”  
  
“Yes, five,” she replied, as if Scorpius was inept. “Gryffindor’s Quidditch tryouts will be at five thirty, which I will be locking up the library to attend.” She narrowed her eyes when Scorpius opened his mouth to argue, so he turned around with a frown and stomped back over to Oliver and Jia’s table.  
  
“No luck?” Oliver asked as Scorpius flipped to the chapter that Professor Longbottom had instructed them to read over the weekend. He managed to make it through his first week of classes without the textbook, having been able to use the library copy, but with a huge Potions assignment taking up most of his Saturday, he had left his Herbology reading until the last minute.  
  
Scorpius mumbled incoherently in response, already reading the chapter about Carnivorous Vegetables as quickly as he could.  
  
Jia recited another sentence to Oliver, ignoring Scorpius’ muttering.  
  
Scorpius looked up to Oliver as he dug through his knapsack to find his glasses case. “Even I know that one, mate.”  
  
“Is it Japanese?” Oliver asked, wincing as Jia grinned. “No, Korean! Dammit.”  
  
After pushing his glasses up his nose, Scorpius tuned out the pair as Jia continued to rattle off random sentences in different languages and Oliver tried to guess what language she was speaking. He was always amazed at how gifted Jia was at picking up languages so quickly, even though he knew it was mostly because she and her parents lived in so many different places when she was a kid, that they came natural to her.  
  
Sooner than Scorpius could get settled into reading the introduction page, the library volunteer was ushering them out. He couldn’t even sneak the book out under his shirt because of the stink eye she was giving him after their earlier confrontation.  
  
“Are you going to come with us to spy on Gryffindor’s tryouts?” Jia asked him – thankfully in English – as they made their way out of the library.  
  
Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her. “You hate Quidditch. We hate Quidditch. We just put up with Oliver because he’s not a prat.”  
  
“Appreciate that.” Oliver gave him a mock salute and a grin.  
  
“Why do you want to spy on Gryffindor’s tryouts?” Scorpius asked her.  
  
“I don’t hate Quidditch. And I want to go to help Oliver,” Jia said.  
  
Oliver snorted. “Not because you heard Rose Weasley talking in Transfiguration about how many seventh years graduated last year, and want to _confund_ the other Chasers so she makes it?”  
  
Scorpius let out a loud, painful groan. “We aren’t still on this are we? Would my repeating of _just talk to her_ help any, or are you going to continue to stalk her for another year?”  
  
“Stop changing the subject!” Jia argued. “And I don’t _stalk_ her. I just admire her talent and think she’s really pretty.”  
  
“From afar without her knowing,” Oliver retorted.  
  
“Sometimes illegally,” Scorpius added, and he and Oliver shared a laugh.  
  
Jia glared at both of them. “You’re not coming with, then?”  
  
Scorpius shook his head. “I have to go to the Owlery and write to my parents. I can’t spend another day listening to people whispering about inane gossip when they should be quietly reading.”  
  
“Poor little nerd,” Jia said, earning a glare from Scorpius.  
  
Reaching the grand staircases, Scorpius broke off from the two when they headed for the front doors of the castle and he headed up. After scribbling out a quick letter to his parents, Scorpius would be back in the common room to get back to memorizing potions before dinner.  
  
As he reached the bottom of the narrow spiral staircase that lead up to the school birds, Scorpius sighed. He wished there was a way to magic himself a copy of the book from the store instead of having to pretend to tell his parents about his _enthusiastic_ first week in his letter. He could only imagine the excited look on his mother’s face, and his father’s sneered disinterest.  
  
Every day in Herbology was a nightmare. He started sitting next to Elias, the only other Ravenclaw, so he could share the boy’s book. It had been a disaster of a week trying to ignore the boy’s chuckling every time Professor Longbottom brought up psychedelic effects of ingesting Bursting Mushrooms.  
  
He didn’t dare sit next to one of the Gryffindors and let Albus Potter know that he’d successfully destroyed his textbook.  
  
The only saving grace of his Herbology lessons was the end, when he got to grab a quick lunch and head to Double Potions. Finally at the N.E.W.T. level classes, all of the mediocre students – he scowled at his brain’s inclusion of Albus again – didn’t want to continue, and it left for an easy hands-on lesson filled with ten students. Professor Nott had given them a list of thirteen potions that they needed to memorize the ingredients and steps for, which they would start the following week and master before the end of the year. Knowing Professor Nott, they’d probably have an exam on them the following day.  
  
Scorpius snapped out of his thoughts as he reached the top of the Owlery. He knew he was smiling at the thought of getting into actually brewing complicated potions without the interruption of exploding cauldrons, so he quickly masked his facial expressions as he entered the room.  
  
If he hadn’t pulled himself from his own head a second before, Scorpius would have probably tripped over the pair of legs extending into the walkway. Instead he stopped mid-step and let out a noise of surprise.  
  
“Wha—why are you sitting in the middle of the walkway, Potter?” Scorpius asked, trying to get his tone to sound like he hadn’t just let out a surprised squeak.  
  
Scorpius watched as Albus’ lips curled into a smirk the second the boy recognized his voice. “I’m visiting the school’s owls, Malfoy.”  
  
When Scorpius stepped over him, he saw Albus’ hand holding his place in a book; Albus was sliding it towards his bag.  
  
“Whatever,” Scorpius muttered. He walked over to one of the least filthy spots he could find and tugged out a spare piece of parchment. After scribbling out a few sentences about how great Potions and Arithmancy were, he told them he had an accident in Herbology and needed a new textbook. With a quick thank you to his mother, Scorpius signed his name at the bottom and rolled up the page.  
  
As subtly as he could, Scorpius dared another glance towards Albus. Thinking Scorpius was preoccupied, Albus had gone back to running his finger along the raised dots of his book. The boy had his eyes shut, and Scorpius watched the way his mouth turned up into a smile as his fingers moved.  
  
Shaking his head, Scorpius turned and whistled for one of the owls. A large brown owl flew down from the rafters, and Scorpius gave the school bird instructions before carefully carrying him towards the window.  
  
When the owl was just a speck against the setting sky, Scorpius turned back around. He looked down to Albus to see that his fingers had stopped on the page and his eyes were open again.  
  
“I don’t have to be able to see to know you’re staring at me.”  
  
Even there was no way Albus could have possibly known, Scorpius still looked to the ground and huffed. He heard Albus chuckle to himself.  
  
Scorpius looked back to see the boy’s smile quickly fading. It didn’t fill his expression quite the way it normally did. “If I ask you why you’re reading in the Owlery are you going to give me a sarcastic answer?” Scorpius asked.  
  
“Most likely.”  
  
“So if I took a guess, and said it was because all of your friends are at tryouts right now—”  
  
Albus shut his book. “Bloody wonderful running in to you Malfoy, as always.” His expression went dark and Scorpius knew he hit a nerve with the boy. He could see him taking deep breaths as he dug around in his bag.  
  
“I’m leaving,” Scorpius said as Albus pulled his cane out of his bag. Albus paused in his unfolding and turned his head towards Scorpius. “You can stay.” He crossed the room and stopped at the top of the staircase. When he turned back around he saw Albus fidgeting with the white stick.  
  
Scorpius debated asking Albus his next question for a few seconds, before he just went with it. “You go to the games with Rose, don’t you?”  
  
A grunted reply was all Scorpius got, and he watched as Albus twisted the cane in his hands, knuckles white. “And if she makes it on the team—”  
  
“Bloody Ravenclaws,” Albus muttered, standing up all of the way. “I should have gone to the Astronomy Tower.” Scorpius glanced down to the cane that was now leading Albus towards the stairs. Scorpius had never gotten a good look at it; he always assumed there was some sort of magic about it, but up close he realized it was just an ordinary piece of plastic.  
  
“How does that work?” Scorpius felt himself asking before he fully realized. He knew he was blocking the staircase. When Albus eyebrows furrowed, Scorpius elaborated. “The cane. Is it magic?”  
  
If possible, Albus expression became even more confused. “No?”  
  
“How do you know you’re not walking off a staircase if it moves?”  
  
He watched Albus roll his eyes, and somewhere in the back of his head wondered when he picked up the motion. If he’d seen it when he was younger, or if it was just a natural reaction. “The stairs aren’t random; they only move at certain times a day. I wouldn’t take the left staircase towards Gryffindor tower after five because I know it leads towards the Charms classrooms.”  
  
Scorpius let out a quiet _huh_. “So, since it’s after five, do you—”  
  
“If you ask me if I need help to my common room I’ll break your knee with this and tell Professor Quibble it was an accident,” he said, suddenly brandishing the white plastic like a weapon.  
  
Scorpius could feel a blush prickle to his cheeks at how quickly Albus saw through him, but he hurriedly said, “I was going to ask if you wanted someone to walk with. You’d have to go by the staircase to Ravenclaw Tower anyway.” He tried to make his tone sound as casual as possible, and not like he was inventing a lie on the spot.  
  
Albus lowered his ‘weapon’. “Oh.” Scorpius watched his expressions play out for a moment. “I guess I can walk with you.” Quick fingers folded the cane back up and tucked it away into the side pocket of his robes.  
  
Albus traced his fingers along the wall as he made his way over to Scorpius.  
  
“Do—”  
  
His question was cut short as Albus reached for him. Scorpius froze as Albus placed his hand on his bicep, and dragged his fingers up until they grasped his shoulder.  
  
“Just for the staircases,” Albus muttered, waggling his eyebrows.  
  
Another noise left Scorpius’ mouth, and he hoped it sounded understanding enough. By the chuckle that Albus let out, Scorpius wasn’t sure.  
  
“Do I— do you want me to walk slower?” He didn’t want his tone to sound like he was internally panicking.  
  
Which he wasn’t.  
  
Albus’ fingers gripped his shoulder tighter. “Just normal, please.” The sarcasm in his tone was ridiculous, and when Scorpius looked to him he was grinning madly. For not the first time – and definitely not the last – Scorpius wished he had a Time Turner around Albus so this entire situation could have been avoided.  
  
The staircase was narrow enough that they could both use the railings, so Scorpius led the way down in silence. He tried to keep his breathing normal and ignore the voice in the back of his head – that sounded suspiciously like Jia – yelling at him that his crush was touching him.  
  
Scorpius exhaled when they reached the bottom of the stairs and Albus let go.  
  
“I didn’t combust,” Albus said in a fake tone of wonder, holding his hand out in front of him. Scorpius clicked his tongue at him and headed for the staircase.  
  
Right on his tail, Albus walked close next to him. Scorpius felt his heartbeat pick back up as Albus’ shoulder brushed his. Knowing it was just for necessity, Scorpius tried to focus on walking in a straight line and not leading Albus into a wall.  
  
It was a thing that Scorpius tried to deny on a daily basis, his _crush_ , and most of the time he succeeded. It wasn’t too difficult to look past the fluttering in his stomach and the stuttered words when Albus was an arse to him, and throwing out sarcastic retorts to the boy’s comments was always a quick savior.  
  
If Scorpius thought way, way back to his first year at Hogwarts, he could remember a time when he and Albus didn’t actively seek to taunt each other. When Albus didn’t require a cane to get around and Scorpius was the first Malfoy in a house besides Slytherin, they could tolerate each other being in the same room.  
  
Years later, Scorpius found it hard to pinpoint an exact moment that he and Albus became resentful peers. All Scorpius knew about Albus’ situation was that he had come back to school his second year without his sense of sight, but with a chip on his shoulder to replace it. He remembered the boy’s loud voice as he insisted he didn’t need help from the professors walking to classes, choosing instead to surround himself with his close Gryffindor peers.  
  
Scorpius remembered the first week of second year, snapping at Albus to be quiet when he was with his rowdy Gryffindor friends in the library. The shocked expression the boy wore that day. Through passive comments and raised tempers, Scorpius didn’t put up with Albus’ obnoxious attitude and it pissed Albus off to no end.  
  
A group of students pulled Scorpius out of his thoughts, and he stopped walking when Albus froze next to him, their shoulders bumping together. Albus’ expression was pained, and Scorpius squinted to see that it was Gryffindor’s Quidditch team walking back from tryouts.  
  
Not fully understanding what was going on, but realizing that Albus was uncomfortable, Scorpius leapt into action. He grabbed the boy’s arm and, with protest from Albus about the touching, dragged him towards the staircase to Ravenclaw Tower. Scorpius could hear the group of Gryffindors talking loudly and excitedly about the tryouts as Albus leaned against the wall underneath the staircase and breathed.  
  
When they finally passed and made it to the opposite staircase, Scorpius turned back to Albus.  
  
He wanted to ask why Albus was breathing heavily, but Albus beat him to his question with an answer. “It’s not as bad once the season starts.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“It’s just because it’s the first day back. It dies down to bearable quick enough.” Albus was leaning against the wall and had his head tilted towards the ground. His tone was quiet and hardened, as if he was convincing himself.  
  
At a loss for words, Scorpius muttered, “Oh.”  
  
Albus was quiet for a moment before he asked, “Is Rose with them?”  
  
Scorpius turned back around the corner and scanned the crowd of Gryffindors ascending the stairs.  
  
“There are a few red-heads – I can’t tell if it’s your sister or Rose,” he muttered as he watched the group stop in front of the portrait hall.  
  
“Rose cut her hair shorter,” Albus said. “Lily said she wears it all spiked and _tousled_ now.”  
  
A chuckle slipped out of Scorpius. “Jia will love that,” he muttered mostly to himself. Another quick glance to the group, Scorpius spotted her and said, “She’s with them.” He watched as the Gryffindors climbed through the portrait hole one by one until the staircase was empty.  
  
Scorpius turned back around and said, “You know, you—”  
  
He was alone in the corridor.


	3. three

Scorpius looked down to his lunch and gritted his teeth. The laughter coming from the table behind him was obnoxious, and he wanted to refresh his memory on Nott’s thirteen potions before class. He’d only have to make it through a little more lunch time until the Potions Professor would be done teaching a class of first years, and Scorpius could escape to sit in the empty classroom until his lesson started. He’d been tempted to just sit outside the classroom until the first years finished, but his stomach had protested loudly at the thought of a skipped meal.  
  
Stupid Albus Potter and his stupid Quidditch ‘friends’. Another outburst of voices had Scorpius gripping his fork and scowling at his textbook.  
  
Scorpius didn’t know what he thought would happen after their interaction in the Ravenclaw corridor the previous night. He wasn’t under the impression that he and Albus would suddenly be best friends and pass notes in Herbology. He wasn’t thinking the boy would ditch all of his friends and run up and admit his long standing feelings for Scorpius.  
  
After staying awake half the night and over-thinking the little glimpse into Albus’ thoughts, Scorpius started thinking about the boy in a different light for the first time in years. Seeing the way Albus worked so hard to avoid his friends had Scorpius feeling suddenly _protective_ of him. Since Rose made it onto the Gryffindor team - even without the aid of Jia’s jinxes - Albus’ help to the games was gone.  
  
Scorpius was torn. On the one hand, he wanted to offer the boy to attend Quidditch matches with him and Jia so he wouldn’t have to miss out. It could lead to an understanding and a friendship, and maybe even a moment where they could ditch Jia and snog under the stands.  
  
Of course if he spoke that out loud, the other hand would come and slap him for being so stupid. Scorpius was _literally_ the last person that Albus would want to sit with. He was sure the boy would prefer Moaning Myrtle to him.  
  
It wasn’t like Scorpius could have just given Albus a look that he wanted to talk in private, and maybe not be mortal enemies anymore. On the dreadful Stinksap day, Scorpius noticed that Albus had a special quill that raised braille into the parchment over his normal words, presumably so he could go back and study his class notes at a later time. Short of obtaining the quill or mastering the braille alphabet, Scorpius knew he’d have to speak to him in person if he wanted to communicate, and that would just lead to Albus mocking him in front of his Gryffindor friends.  
  
Professor Longbottom had let them pick their own partners in Herbology that day. By the time Scorpius turned around to find someone, Albus was paired off with one of Gryffindor’s Beaters, Azid Isa. When most of the students were partnered, Professor Longbottom helped the stragglers, suggesting Scorpius move his things to Jennie West’s table. A pretty and quiet girl from Gryffindor, he usually saw her in the library and often alone.  
  
Scorpius dared another glance to the back of the classroom as he moved his things. He watched as Albus and Azid talked together in hushed tones, before breaking out into loud laughter. Scorpius turned back around and scowled. Memories of the night before flashed in Scorpius head, of Albus hunched over and upset.  
  
Unfocused, Scorpius nearly ran into another of Albus’ friends, Peter Flynn, as he crossed the classroom. Peter was making a beeline for the front of the classroom where Gryffindor’s Prefect and Library overlord, Bridgette, was waiting for him. With the Gryffindor boy being taller, larger, and stronger than him, Scorpius stumbled backwards.  
  
Scorpius ignored Peter’s rude comment, and the laughter that followed from most of the Gryffindors as he dropped his things on Jennie’s desk.  
  
“Hey, Scorpius,” she muttered, giving him a smile as she pushed her glasses up her nose. Scorpius thought about his own at the bottom of his knapsack, and how his mother would be scolding him for not wearing them. She looked back to where another outburst of laughter came. “Should I just go ahead and apologize on behalf of Godric Gryffindor?”  
  
Scorpius chuckled. “Can you just ask to transfer to Ravenclaw?”  
  
With a tiny giggle, she shook her head and slid her book across the desk.  
  
Professor Longbottom called attention back after everyone was situated. After explaining the instructions for their lesson, he released them all for lab work. Today’s lesson had them harvesting leaves from the Venomous Tentacula plant, so Scorpius dug his Dragon-hide Gloves out of his knapsack while Jennie leafed through her textbook.  
  
With Jennie distracted, Scorpius turned behind him again. He watched as Albus shook his head and stood. When he turned back and saw Jennie going to stand, he held his hand up. “I’ll get it!” Jennie raised an eyebrow at him as he tripped over the leg of the table in his haste.  
  
Quickly smoothing over his robes and straightening his tie, Scorpius took a deep breath and caught up to Albus.  
  
“Potter.”  
  
Scorpius watched as Albus’ shoulders tensed momentarily, before he kept walking. “Malfoy, what a pleasure. Here to ruin another pair of my robes?”  
  
Scorpius wanted to ignore the comment and talk to him, but his habit of arguing with Albus got the better of him.“Have you decided to tell all your friends how you can’t stand being around them?”  
  
Albus whirled around, and Scorpius watched the loathsome expression form on his face. “What the _hell_ do you even _think_ you’re talking about?”  
  
Before Scorpius could retort Professor Longbottom was between them. “Oi! You’re going to make the Snargaluff buds start sweating! Five points from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.”  
  
Scorpius opened his mouth to argue, but Professor Longbottom held a finger up. “You two disturb my plants again you’ll be here repotting Aconite for my third years after dinner. Without magic.”  
  
When Professor Longbottom turned back for the front of the classroom, Scorpius looked back to Albus. He knew he should try to apologize, but Albus already had his cane out and was storming towards the front of the classroom. Scorpius watched as he used the stick to walk more smoothly between the tables, when he normally would take his time running his fingers along the desks to navigate.  
  
Shaking his head, Scorpius followed the boy to the front of the classroom. He ignored all of the looks from their quieted classmates at the scuffle, and shot a look to Peter, who was openly staring.  
  
Albus was still fuming when Scorpius stepped next to him to pick out a plant pot, so Scorpius sighed.  
  
“Here, let me—” Scorpius muttered as he grabbed a pot and shoved it towards Albus, grabbing his wrist and guiding his hand towards it. Surprised at the contact, Albus stumbled with the pot and his cane for a second before the plant tumbled to the floor.  
  
Scorpius stared as the leaves of the magical plant instantly began to shrivel and brown. Mouth still hanging open, he looked up towards Albus. The boy’s hands were frozen from where the pot had slipped.  
  
Scorpius could feel Professor Longbottom’s glare from across the classroom as he stared at the shattered remains of the plant. Even before he looked up, he knew there would be hell to pay.  
  
Another round of laughter had Scorpius snapping out of his thoughts. He gritted his teeth and tried to focus on the textbook in front of him.  
  
“What did that pie do to you?”  
  
Scorpius looked away from the meat pie he’d been unconsciously mashing and up to Oliver. When the boy raised an eyebrow at him, Scorpius sighed and shoved the plate away. “Nothing.”  
  
“Which is code for Albus,” Jia said in a fake whisper.  
  
Scorpius turned to her with a scowl. After she shot him a knowing grin, Scorpius said, “It’s nothing! Literally nothing. It’s always been nothing, and it always will be nothing. Except detention, of course. My first one, ever. But whatever.”  
  
“You know… if you replace all of the nothings in what you just said with Albus’ name…” Oliver trailed off with a chuckle as Scorpius leveled him with a glare.  
  
“You two are the absolute worst,” he muttered.  
  
“Aw, come on,” Jia said, bumping shoulders with him. “What happened? And don’t say ‘nothing’ again.”  
  
“It’s just detention,” Oliver added. “Jia’s in there about once a month.”  
  
Another roar of laughter had Scorpius twisting in his seat. He watched as Peter and Azid tossed food across the table and into each other’s mouths, while the rest of their teammates cheered them on. Scorpius’ eyes landed on Albus, and he watched as the boy chuckled along with the rest of his friends’ uproars.  
  
“I don’t get it,” Scorpius said as he turned back to his friends.  
  
“What?” Oliver asked, looking behind Scorpius towards the Gryffindor table. “They’re obnoxious prats. It’s no different than any other day.”  
  
Scorpius sighed. He wanted so badly to talk about his interaction with Albus to his friends, but as much as Albus pretended that nothing was wrong, the moment felt so personal that Scorpius wasn’t even sure if he was supposed to have witnessed it. He turned back around again and found Albus, who was turned away from the Quidditch team and talking to Lily.  
  
“I just don’t get why throwing food across the table is a form of entertainment to straight teenage boys,” Scorpius invented, giving them a fake eye roll.  
  
“I think Peter Flynn is bisexual,” Jia said conversationally; “he and Gil Rodden from Hufflepuff dated for a few weeks in their fifth year.”  
  
“Whatever,” Scorpius muttered. “I don’t even want to know how you know that.”  
  
“Emily caught them in a broom closet on a patrol one night.” Jia said, ignoring Scorpius. “She came back and told us all like it was huge gossip. Like none of us saw the way they stared across the Great Hall for months before.”  
  
“I don’t think anyone but you saw that happening,” Oliver said, glancing over to the Gryffindor table again.  
  
Oliver and Jia launched into a discussion, so Scorpius dipped out of The Great Hall with a promise to save them seats in Potions when he noticed some of the first years entering.  
  
As he walked in between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables, Scorpius snuck one last glance towards Albus. He averted his gaze when he accidentally made eye contact with Albus’ sister. Feeling a blush prickle on his cheeks, Scorpius rushed to exit the Great Hall. He was sure Lily was telling Albus about Scorpius sneaking glances, and Albus would tell her all about Herbology.  
  
Scorpius knew he was grimacing as he shoved open the dungeon door and walked into the Potions classroom, but even as Professor Nott tried to catch his glance, he couldn’t manage to twist his features into something more positive. He busied himself digging through his knapsack to avoid eye contact with the Potions Master. He could feel eyes on him as he pretended to skim through the pages, but it wasn’t until he heard Professor Nott start to chuckle that he finally looked up.  
  
Biting back a smile, Nott asked, “Rough day?”  
  
“Something like that,” Scorpius said with a grimace, flipping through his copy of _Advanced Potion-Making_.  
  
“If it makes you feel any better I’m going to give a pop quiz today on the reading.” When Scorpius looked up, Nott was chuckling at his own joke. “Really though, anything you need to talk about? Your mother wrote over the weekend and asked about you because she wants to give you your space.”  
  
Scorpius gave him a small smile, feeling his mood already lifting. “I wrote to her yesterday.”  
  
“Good. Don’t change the subject. Is it a boy?” Scorpius stared at his book and tried not to let his expression waver. “A girl?”  
  
When he looked up, Professor Nott was grinning. Scorpius rolled his eyes. “It’s not a girl.”  
  
Professor Nott laughed. “Is he in this class? I could pair you two up for Potions Presentations. Semester long project, after class meetings…”  
  
Scorpius didn’t want to laugh, but it escaped him before he could hold it back. “Thankfully, no.”  
  
“Well,” Nott said, standing from his desk and point his wand toward the chalkboard; “At least your tie is intact today.” Scorpius grimaced as the piece of chalk started writing numbers on the board.  
  
Before Scorpius could retort, the other students in the N.E.W.T. Potions class started to file in. Scorpius nodded to Jia and Oliver as they dropped into the seats on either side of him, and flipped open his textbook to get in one last read through of the _Elixir to Induce Euphoria_. Maybe he could slip some of it in Albus’ Pumpkin Juice at dinner so he wouldn’t be so insufferable during their detention that evening.  
  
“Alright, alright,” Professor Nott said as the class got settled in. “Even though some of you had Quidditch tryouts this weekend, I hope you still got in plenty of reading time because—” His sentence cut off as he flicked his wand towards a stack of papers on his desk, making them fly around the classroom. “—we are having a little quiz.”  
  
The quiz was simple enough with all of the studying that Scorpius had done over the weekend; it almost seemed _too_ easy, as if all one had to do was _read_ the material to ace it. Within minutes Scorpius was standing, and he ducked his head to hide his grin as he hurried to the front of the class to be the first one to turn his paper in.  
  
Professor Nott beamed at him, and in return for the finished quiz, handed him a piece of parchment. Scorpius glanced down as he walked back to his desk to see it was different potions scheduled with dates that students would be presenting one of the potions. Since he was the first one finished, his paper had _Amortentia_ highlighted.  
  
Scorpius rolled his eyes. _Great_.  
  
There was a small queue forming in front of Professor Nott’s desk when Scorpius got back to his seat. Jia was at the back of it, and Oliver was still at the table, scratching out an answer with his quill. He knew his friend had only taken Potions because Scorpius and Jia had insisted, and that he hadn’t done the reading, forgoing it for a meeting with the remaining Ravenclaw Quidditch players.  
  
Scorpius glanced at Jia’s sheet when the girl sat back down, and tilted his so she could do the same. He watched as she tugged out a spare piece of parchment. After quickly scribbling on it, she slid it over so Scorpius could read.  
  
 _Rose Weasley finished right after you. Switch with me!_  
  
Dipping his quill, Scorpius grabbed the parchment and scribbled a response.  
  
 _As bad as I’d feel for Rose… anything to get out of Amortentia._  
  
Glancing to the front of the room to make sure Professor Nott was distracted, Scorpius slid his time table across the desk and grabbed Jia’s. He read over the ingredients for Polyjuice Potion and grinned. It’d be a better challenge, and he and whoever he worked with would have longer to prepare since the potion took a month to brew.  
  
Oliver’s chair scraped back along the stone floor, and Scorpius watched him join the end of the line. Noticing that he was the last one to finish, the class started conversations about which potions they had been assigned to, swapping tables under the desks so they could work with their friends.  
  
Once Oliver was back in his seat, Professor Nott cleared his throat in the front of the room. “That was only mildly painful to watch.” Several of his classmates broke out into snickers, while others – Oliver included – sank into their desks. Grinning, Nott said, “Alright, quiet down. So if you haven’t had a chance to look at the time tables I’ve handed out, these will be the dates that you and your partner will be teaching one of these potions to the class,” he explained as he gestured towards the chalkboard. “I’ve picked out some of the potions that will most likely be on the N.E.W.T. exam, and I’ll be teaching the rest. Use the rest of the time to meet with your partners and discuss times that you can either practice, or for some of the Potions that take multiple days to brew, times that you can meet and check on your batches.”  
  
Scorpius leaned over to Jia as chairs scraped along the floor and students began to talk. “Don’t make it too obvious if your potion smells like her.”  
  
“Please.” Jia said, shoving her things into her bag. “Amortentia is a disgusting, outdated _poison_ disguised and marketed as romance in a bottle. I look forward to belittling it in essay format.”  
  
“Hey, you have Amortentia?”  
  
Scorpius and Jia both looked up at Rose Weasley’s voice. Today the girl had her short red hair spiked into a fohawk. When Scorpius turned to Jia and realized she was staring, he elbowed her to get her to stand up.  
  
“Err—yes.” Jia nodded, scrambling to her feet. Scorpius watched as she let her dark hair fall in front of her face, presumably to hide the pink in her cheeks.  
  
Rose grinned. “Perfect.”  
  
Oliver and Scorpius both snickered as Rose dragged Jia off, and she turned to make a face at him when Rose wasn’t looking.  
  
Most of the students were paired by the time Scorpius packed his things and stood, and as Scorpius watched Oliver meet up with Gil Rodden, he sighed and looked to the group of Gryffindors.  
  
Azid was the only one left at his table; he was leaning back on two legs of his chair, and smirked as Scorpius made eye contact with him. When Albus’ best friend patted the seat next to him, Scorpius groaned out loud.  
  
“Hey, Albus’ friend!” Azid greeted him sarcastically as Scorpius dumped his textbook onto the boy’s table.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Scorpius said, “Albus and I are not friends.”  
  
The boy chuckled. “Maybe according to you.” Scorpius watched him suppress a smirk, before saying, “So I’ve actually tried Polyjuice Potion once accidently. When I was little, my older sister-”  
  
“What?” Scorpius interrupted his story, mind still stuck on Azid’s reply. “According to me? According to _every_ time I’m near him!”  
  
Azid laughed again, and continued with his story.


	4. Chapter 4

“You’re right, I don’t understand it either,” Oliver said as he tugged on his Ravenclaw Quidditch kit. “Though, I do understand why you waited until Jia wasn’t around to say something.” Their fellow Ravenclaws already headed off towards the Great Hall to grab a bite to eat before going outside to witness the tryouts, and Scorpius had stalled to talk to Oliver alone.  
  
Scorpius chuckled and sat up from his reclined position on the bed. He watched as Oliver pulled his dreadlocks back and secured them with a brightly colored hairband, and immediately shook his head so a few of the shorter ones fell out. “Azid could just be saying it to mess with me. He is Albus’ friend, after all; it wouldn’t be a stretch.”  
  
Oliver made a face like he was considering it, before saying, “Maybe. Maybe Albus is just as exasperating as you are, and it was a hint that you should just try to talk to him.”  
  
Noticing the subtle insult, Scorpius clicked his tongue and scowled. “And say what?” He let his tone fall sarcastically saccharine. “Hey Albus, I’ve kind of fancied you since fourth year; do you want to maybe try not hating each other for once? How’s this: for the next five minutes, try not to loathe me and see what happens.”  
  
Oliver was holding in his laughter, so Scorpius dropped back onto his pillow and sighed.  
  
They were quiet for a while as Oliver got dressed in the rest of his Quidditch attire. Scorpius had his eyes shut, but could hear the way Oliver was tugging his laces together on his trainers. Oliver had been one of the options for Ravenclaw’s captain that year, but Matty Kingston had better grades and Oliver didn’t make it.  
  
“I can’t believe _you_ actually got a detention,” the boy said aloud. Scorpius could hear his clunky footsteps heading towards their lavatory.  
  
“In _Herbology_ , with _Potter_ ,” Scorpius added, draping his arm over his eyes. “Like I haven’t been tortured enough in my sixteen years of existence.”  
  
Oliver snorted. “Sucks you’re missing Ravenclaw’s tryouts, even if you don’t know which one the Quaffle is.”  
  
Scorpius sat back up. “I was eleven. Why would this stupid school even make flying lessons mandatory?”  
  
“I have said this before, and I will say it again,” Oliver said, laughter dancing in his dark eyes. “You come from a pureblood _wizarding_ family. There is only one sport that _wizards_ actually care about. You do not have an excuse for not knowing which one the Quaffle is.”  
  
“I hope you fall off of your broom today and all the pretty girls laugh at you,” Scorpius said, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
Oliver’s laughter filled their dorm.  
  
*  
  
The sun was setting as Scorpius made his way across the grounds of Hogwarts after dinner. He pulled his jumper more securely around him as the wisps of autumn air blew dried up leaves around his feet. The grounds were quiet, save for the sounds coming from the Quidditch Pitch in the distance where Oliver and his other fellow Ravenclaws were all taking part in tryouts.  
  
Scorpius had his eyes to the ground as he rounded the castle towards the Greenhouses, and when he looked up, Albus’ sister was chatting with Professor Longbottom outside the door. When she saw him her smile immediately dropped into a frown.  
  
Professor Longbottom addressed Scorpius as he walked up to the pair. “Mr. Malfoy, glad you could make it. Albus is already inside; he can fill you in on how you’ll be spending the evening.” Scorpius glanced into the doorway and back to Longbottom, who’d continued his conversation with the youngest Potter as if the interruption hadn’t happened.  
  
Sighing, Scorpius entered the Greenhouse.  
  
Albus had his back to the door, and his shoulders tensed as Scorpius walked closer. He watched for a moment as Albus worked, before walking around the table and standing across the boy.  
  
“Fancy seeing you here,” Albus said as he tugged a purple flowery plant out of one pot and placed it in a larger one. “Or, well, you know.”  
  
Remembering all of the times Albus had baited him like this, Scorpius didn’t respond to his sarcastic greeting. “What are we doing here? I’d like to finish up so I can get to my Transfiguration essay.”  
  
Albus lifted his head. “The one that Professor Xiao just assigned today? That’s not due until next week? Is that the essay you’re referring to?”  
  
Scorpius watched as the boy’s lips quivered, hiding a grin. Gritting his teeth and refusing to rise to the bait, Scorpius said, “Will you please tell me what we’re doing.”  
  
Shaking his head and breaking out into laughter, Albus stood. Quick hands grabbed one of the tiny plant pots, and Albus said, “Aconite grows based on the lunar cycle, and there’s supposed to be a full moon in two days. We’re repotting these because Neville – er, Professor Longbottom – expects them to go through a growth spurt this cycle.” As he explained, he wrapped his fingers around the base of the plant and pulled. Albus reached for the bigger pot of soil, so Scorpius grabbed it and slid it closer. Using one hand, Albus ran his fingers around the rim of the pot, before digging a small hole in the center of the soil and replanting the small bud.  
  
Scorpius quickly looked away from Albus’ hands at work and nodded, and when his brain caught up that Albus couldn’t see him doing so, he said, “Okay. That’s not so bad.” He remembered a particular time Jia had returned from Herbology detention covered in blue goop, and was silently thankful.  
  
When Albus didn’t respond to him and continued to work, Scorpius rolled his eyes and grabbed a few of the plants. Turning his back to Albus, he set up his own potting station and got to work. The project was remedial, and he was sure it was just busy work that Professor Longbottom didn’t trust his younger students to do.  
  
When Scorpius finished his plants and turned back around, he watched Albus work out of the corner of his eye while he gathered more supplies. Albus made quick work out of the plants, and had easily surpassed Scorpius while he had his back turned.  
  
“How are you so quick at that?” Scorpius asked, feeling the words come out of his mouth before he thought better of it. He opened his mouth to correct himself, but Albus scoffed over him.  
  
“See, with blindness I have super-hearing. So I can hear the plants whispering about how ignorant you are.” Albus’ tone was dripping with sarcasm.  
  
“I—” Scorpius sighed. “I didn’t mean it as a blind thing.” He shut his eyes tightly, internally cursing his own word vomit.  
  
When he opened his eyes back up, Albus had stopped working. Scorpius watched as he lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. “So it was a compliment?”  
  
Scorpius let out an indignant noise, and Albus broke out into a grin.  
  
The classroom door opened as Albus started to speak, and Scorpius hid his relief when Longbottom told them both to stop talking get back to work.  
  
Thankfully they managed to finish up the repotting without any problems, and Professor Longbottom released them early. Of course, the Herbology teacher _promised_ fertilizer harvesting if the interruptions continued, and chuckled as he released them to their evenings.  
  
The sun had just set by the time Albus and Scorpius made it outside of the Herbology classroom, and Scorpius zipped his jumper up before turning around to Albus.  
  
Seeing the boy lean up against the greenhouse wall with a frown, Scorpius sighed. He cursed himself internally as he said, “Are you waiting for your sister?”  
  
Albus lifted his head. “She’ll be back after sneaking into Ravenclaw’s tryouts.” The unphased way that Albus admitted his sister’s actions made Scorpius roll his eyes.  
  
“I was heading there now to catch the end, if—”  
  
“No thanks,” Albus interrupted him curtly, sliding down to sit against the wall. “I’d much rather sit here and wait for my sister.”  
  
Scorpius sighed, trying to push away what Azid had said to him in Potions that day. As much as he wished the boy’s words meant Albus didn’t hate him, he had also come to accept the fact that Azid was even more of a sarcastic prick than Albus.  
  
He knew with the combination of the day he was having, and the way Albus so easily blew him off, that he was probably getting upset for nothing, but Scorpius just shook his head.  
  
“Okay, Albus.”  
  
Knowing what his tone sounded like, Scorpius didn’t bother to wait for Albus’ reaction before turning around and walking away.  
  
“Okay?” Albus repeated. Scorpius stopped when he heard the boy’s clothing shuffle as he struggled to stand. “What?”  
  
Scorpius, feeling suddenly fed up at the back and forth, turned on his heel. “Okay as in, I’m done. I give up. _Apparently_ I’m just an ignorant arse and I give up on trying to be – anything. You can tell Isa that he’s definitely wrong.”  
  
In another world, Albus’ facial expression would have been borderline comical. “Azid? What are you _talking_ about?”  
  
“Nothing,” Scorpius quickly snapped. “I’m not talking about anything with you anymore. I don’t seem to recall you actively disliking me in our first year, and I don’t seem to recall doing _anything_ to you to make you hate me _so_ _much_ , but apparently you do, so.” Scorpius left his sentence incomplete, waiting for whatever stupid, sarcastic response Albus would throw back at him.  
  
“I don’t hate you,” Albus said. His tone was suddenly soft, and Scorpius was startled by it. “You’re—”  
  
“Ignorant?” Scorpius suggested, half sneering.  
  
“You make me feel normal,” Albus blurted out. Scorpius could see the lids of his murky green eyes widening, as if the words had slipped out before he meant them to.  
  
Scorpius stared at him.  
  
“All of my friends, you know, they’re all on the Quidditch team. I used to play with Lily and James all the time before—” Albus paused, and Scorpius knew he was referencing losing his sight. “Azid is different, but all of the other guys… sometimes I just think they’re only friends with me because they feel obligated.  
  
“And then there’s you. You told the blind kid to shut up in the middle of the Library.”  
  
A small, reserved smile formed on Albus’ mouth, and Scorpius couldn’t stop staring at it. “We had a Charms essay due that afternoon,” Scorpius muttered incredulously. He wondered how he remembered the subject after all this time.  
  
“So, let me see if I have this correct,” Scorpius then said, feeling slightly hysterical. “You _enjoy_ arguing with me.”  
  
“Mostly. Sometimes you’re actually kind of ignorant. I really don’t need as much help as people think, and I’ll ask for it if I do.”  
  
Scorpius didn’t know if he wanted to laugh, cry, or run into the forest and let himself be trampled by centaurs, or do an insane combination of all of those things. For _years_ he’d been second guessing his own sanity in having feelings for Albus Potter, and the entire time Albus had gotten _joy_ out of winding him up and letting him suffer.  
  
Could a dragon just fly by and swallow him up?  
  
“Well, I’m glad I could be such a great source of entertainment to you over the years,” Scorpius said, hysterical sadness turning to annoyance. At himself or Albus, he wasn’t entirely sure. He turned and started towards the castle, ready to drown his embarrassment and the dirt under his nails away in a shower.  
  
“Wait!” Albus called out. Scorpius stopped walking again, silently questioning his own lack of pride and gluttony for self-loathing.  
  
Naturally, Albus ran into him.  
  
Albus grunted, and Scorpius turned around to see him still standing in close proximities.  
  
“—could’ve told me you stopped walking,” Albus muttered to himself.  
  
Scorpius took a step back to put space between them. “Wouldn’t want to make it easy on you,” he retorted, tone bitter.  
  
Albus lifted his head. “I—are you... angry?”  
  
Letting out one of the most sarcastic laughs he could muster, Scorpius said, “Of course not! Why would I be angry that you’ve been getting joy out of arguing with me for upwards of _five_ years!?”  
  
  
Before Albus could answer, Scorpius heard laughter coming from the distance. He turned and saw a pair of red-heads walking towards the Greenhouses.  
  
Bitterly, Scorpius muttered, “Guess you got to wait for Lily after all.” Albus didn’t say anything else, and Scorpius started walking swiftly towards the castle.  
  
Albus didn’t call out to him again.  
  
*  
  
The Ravenclaw common room was a buzz of excitement when Scorpius finally made it back from detention. He didn’t bother to look for Oliver or Jia in the mess of students, instead choosing to head straight for the dorms to work on his Transfiguration essay. Even though Albus had kindly pointed out that it wasn’t due until the following week, Scorpius wasn’t feeling much like celebrating that evening.  
  
Thankfully the sixth year boys’ dorms were empty, and after a much needed shower, Scorpius leaned against his headboard as he tugged his Transfiguration textbook out of his knapsack. A thud and a screech came from downstairs, and Scorpius gritted his teeth as he wrote his name on the top of a blank piece of parchment.  
  
He didn’t realize he was crying until moisture caught the rim of his glasses and ran across it, making his cheekbone wet. Hastily reaching under the frames, he scrubbed away at the wetness and took a shaky breath.  
  
Albus didn’t like him. He didn’t hate him, but he definitely didn’t feel the way Scorpius did.  
  
He tried to write another sentence out, and sighed when the thought he was trying to put on the page got lost halfway through. Another tear fell down his cheek as he scribbled out what he was writing and crumpled up the parchment. He shoved his textbook back into his knapsack and dumped it onto the floor beside his bed.  
  
Two years. Scorpius spent two whole years pining after some boy, hoping the banter between them was something more than the surface.  
  
And it was. It was Albus fighting with him for his own bloody _entertainment_.  
  
With a quick flick of his wand the lights in the dorm went out, and Scorpius curled onto his side. He wrapped his arms around himself as he let out a quiet sob, feeling his chest ache with sadness.  
  
If only his father could see him now, crying over the Potter boy.  
  
It had been miracle enough that his father hadn’t sent him off the day he came out to his parents. His back up plan had been to show up on the Nott’s door where he knew he’d be accepted. He still remembered his father’s jaw tensing, and his own inability to look away from the profound disappointment. He remembered his mother’s arms wrapping around him, finally breaking the eye contact. Her quiet whispers about how _she_ still loved him. Even though they were friends with the Notts, he saw the way his father instantly detested him. He was the fourth generation of ‘one male child’ from the Malfoy family, and the bloodline would stop with him.  
  
The door to the dorm opened quietly, and Scorpius held his breath.  
  
“Scorpius?” Oliver asked, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.  
  
Scorpius didn’t answer; pretending to be asleep would be better than having the heart to heart he knew Oliver would insist if he did.  
  
He heard Oliver walk across the dorm and into the loo. Once the door was closed, Scorpius finally exhaled and wiped his cheeks off. He heard the water running, so he quickly tugged his glasses off and rolled over, pulling his blanket up to his chest as he did.  
  
Oliver’s four-poster bed was right next to his, so Scorpius closed his eyes when the boy started walking over. He tried to keep his breathing as steady as possible.  
  
“Whenever you want to talk about it, let me know,” Oliver muttered quietly. Scorpius peeked an eye open to see him sitting up against his headboard, using his wand to read. Oliver looked to him and gave him a small smile.  
  
He didn’t answer Oliver that night. He normally told his friends everything, but he didn’t know if he could face telling them the truth.


	5. five

All week leading up to the opening Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, the autumn weather had been perfect. It was nice enough outside that Scorpius didn’t sweat in Herbology. He even found himself wishing for jumpers in the Potions dungeons. He and Jia could sit in the Quidditch stands and do Arithmancy homework while Oliver and the rest of the Ravenclaw team practiced. There was even one memorable occasion when Rose came out to sit with them; Scorpius got to watch Jia stutter and blush her way through revisions. Despite Jia’s reactions, she and Rose were becoming fast friends with their mutual love of talking loudly while Scorpius was present.  
  
He didn’t wish that Rose had brought Albus.  
  
Hogwarts was blessed with some of the nicest autumn weather for weeks. So of course when Scorpius woke up the day of the match, it was due to a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning illuminating Ravenclaw Tower.  
  
“This is torture!” he shouted to Jia and Oliver on either side of him. His teeth were chattering together and he felt like he was going to shiver himself to death. They didn't even have to be there! Ravenclaw wasn't playing!  
  
Oliver didn’t hear him, too invested in his conversation with Matty Kingston – Ravenclaw’s Quidditch captain – to pay him any notice.  
  
Jia turned to him. She was shivering as well, and the red stripes she painted on her cheeks were streaked from the rain. “It’s not so bad,” she shouted over the roars of the crowd.  
  
Literal roars. Gryffindors were obnoxious.  
  
“Not so bad?” Scorpius yelled, bewildered. He looked down to his drenched clothing and brushed his hand over his hair to _ring out_ the extra water. “Herbology is _not so bad_. This is terrible.”  
  
Oliver leaned over so Jia could hear him. “I’d be different if you had a pretty red-head to look at, mate.”  
  
“Hey arse, she’s mine,” Jia said to Oliver, making the boy laugh. “Get your own ginger.”  
  
“Does she know that?” Scorpius shouted loud enough for Oliver to hear. Jia grimaced at him as Oliver shook his head, chuckling. “There isn’t anything I _can_ look at,” Scorpius complained a few moments later. He could make out the green and red dots of the players, but anything else was lost on him.  
  
“Maybe if you wore your glasses,” Jia argued back.  
  
Scorpius made a face at her. “No thanks, Mum. They’re inside, anyway.” He looked out to the field for a few moments, squinting to see if he could make out any of the players. Even in the front of the stands, he could hardly make out anything except for random patches of color.  
  
“I think I’m going to go inside,” Scorpius said to Jia, teeth chattering together. “I’m getting a headache from squinting.”  
  
“Boo, okay,” Jia replied. When Scorpius stood she slid down the bench into his spot and wrapped herself up under Oliver’s arm for warmth. “Feel better.”  
  
“Thanks—” Scorpius was cut off by another round of cheering as one of the teams scored. He winced, already wishing he would have sucked it up and wore the damn glasses. As he slowly made his way through the crowd of Ravenclaws, he could hear his mother’s voice in his head scolding him.  
  
The walk back to the castle was muddy and wet, and by the time he got indoors he was completely drenched and covered in moist earth. He looked behind him as he walked, feeling bad for the elf that would get stuck cleaning up after him. After a quick attempt at a cleaning spell, Scorpius sighed. Giving up, he headed towards Ravenclaw Tower, leaving squeaky footsteps in his wake.  
  
The riddle into the Ravenclaw common room was simple: “ _What comes down but never goes up?_ ”  
  
Scorpius shook his hair like a dog and said, “Rain, how appropriate. And now I’m being sarcastic at a door.”  
  
The door swung open, and Scorpius took a deep breath before entering the deserted common room. His head was pounding, so he took the stairs two at a time to get to the sixth year boys’ dorm.  
  
He’d never admit it to Jia or his mother, but he sighed in relief the second he shoved the frames up his nose. After blinking a few times to adjust, Scorpius tugged some dry clothes out of his trunk and went to the loo to change.  
  
After a quick, hot shower – he knew he’d never manage after the game when the sopping students came in masses – Scorpius grabbed his knapsack and headed out of the common room.  
  
He tried to stifle his grin as he walked down the stairs and towards the Library. Lately it seemed like every time he went, it was filled with students gossiping and loud noises. Scorpius knew that with most of the student body outside, he’d finally get some quiet time to practice the Transfiguration demonstration due that Monday. They had to transform a part of their own body; whether it be a hand into an animal paw, or to alter the shape of their nose, Professor Xiao wanted a show. He gave them a lot more freedom in the N.E.W.T. class as long as they understood the basics.  
  
Transfiguration wasn’t one of Scorpius’ favorite classes, but he knew it was good for careers. He hadn't chosen what he wanted to do outside of Hogwarts, but job prospects liked to see challenging classes. Plus, Professor Xiao had requested him.  
  
Scorpius had expected the library to be empty, but he figured at sixteen years of age, fate really was out to get him.  
  
He didn’t say anything for a few moments, secretly savoring in being able to watch Albus read and work without getting snapped at. He was in his regular school clothes, sans a tie. They were wrinkled and frumpy, as if they weren’t pressed before Albus pulled them on. Scorpius reached up and straightened out his own tie.  
  
He and Albus hadn’t spoken since their shared detention.  
  
It took Oliver two full days to finally get Scorpius to cave and explain what happened. Scorpius prided himself in not breaking down into tears as he told Jia and Oliver what Albus let slip. How the boy saw him as nothing more than entertainment, and how he felt _normal_ around Scorpius. He was happy enough to say he didn’t manage to cry again, even when Jia actually hugged him.  
  
Both of his friends told him to get over his feelings. They said he was better than Albus, and relationships during Hogwarts were overrated. As Scorpius watched Albus focus on the book in front of him, he felt himself not heeding their advice.  
  
Scorpius watched Albus’ process a few times. He’d start out with his wand in hand, pointed towards his other fist. Albus would mutter the incantation, and when nothing would happen he’d sigh and drop his wand onto the table. After a quick run of his hands through his hair, he'd drag his fingers back his textbook and re-reading the passage.  
  
“You’re not giving the spell enough time,” Scorpius said, finally revealing himself.  
  
Albus jerked so much his wand clattered to the floor. “Bloody hell! Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to sneak up on a blind person?”  
  
“You probably have,” Scorpius retorted. “I’m serious. You’re not waiting long enough for the spell to work.”  
  
Albus didn’t reply to Scorpius’ directions. “I don’t even like Transfiguration. Professor Xiao used to play Quidditch with my mum.”  
  
“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try and get good grades,” Scorpius reprimanded.  
  
Albus snorted. “Ravenclaws.”  
  
Scorpius knew he’d regret what he was about to do. Bending at the knee, he reached down to the ground and picked up the boy’s wand, setting it on top of Albus’ textbook. His eyes lingered at the raised dots on the page for a moment, before he steeled his nerves and tugged out the chair across the table.  
  
Albus rolled his eyes.  
  
“Try again,” Scorpius said, trying to make his tone sound encouraging, and not bossy.  
  
Albus narrowed his eyes at Scorpius, and Scorpius found himself once again wondering where he’d picked up the motion. He wondered so much about the boy sitting across from him, and the boy was a closed book.  
  
Picking up his wand, Albus pointed it towards his hand and muttered the spell again.  
  
“Louder,” Scorpius said.  
  
Albus snorted, losing his concentration. He brought his head down and pillowed it in his arms, chuckling. Scorpius felt his cheeks heat up.  
  
“You’re ridiculous,” Scorpius muttered.  
  
He wasn’t feeling fondness surge up for the boy. This was Albus; immature and uncaring about the help that Scorpius was offering.  
  
Voices started carrying from the corridor into the Library, letting them both know that the game was over and whatever moment they were having was gone. When Scorpius turned back, Albus wasn’t laughing anymore.  
  
A thought passed in Scorpius' mind to offer Albus help with Transfiguration. He was one of the top students in the class. However, his past experiences offering anything to Albus had him hesitating. Besides, Rose was neck and neck with Scorpius for being at the top of the class, and Albus could ask her if he needed to.  
  
It didn’t help that Scorpius found himself wanting – much more than he cared to admit – to help Albus, to be there for Albus. He hated himself for all those years of thinking Albus would consider him as anything more than an outlet for his annoyance with the world.  
  
“SLY-THER-IN, SLY-THER-IN! WOO!” Scorpius jumped and twisted in his chair towards the exit. Two of Slytherin’s players were leaning into the Library and shouting. They weren’t directing the racket at anyone, and ran off laughing when Madam Pince chased them down.  
  
“That answers that,” Scorpius muttered to himself. He looked up to Albus. “Sorry.”  
  
Albus shrugged. “S’early in the year. We – they can come back from it.”  
  
“Yeah,” Scorpius muttered, unsure of what else to say. “I should go,” he then said, standing up from the table. “I really don’t want to face your sister on a bad day.”  
  
“She’s over-protective,” Albus said quietly. Scorpius almost didn’t hear him. “Sorry if she’s mean to you.”  
  
Scorpius stopped, closing his eyes. He couldn’t let himself overthink. _Albus_ was mean to him, for crying out loud! “It’s fine. I’m ignorant, remember?”  
  
He started to walk away before Albus could answer. He wouldn’t overthink this, even if it was the longest conversation he’d ever had without arguing with the boy. He wouldn’t give himself hope that Albus was actually sorry.  
  
“You know what?” Scorpius said, turning around. “I’m ignorant. I am!”  
  
“Shh!” Madam Pince, back from chasing down the delinquent Slytherins, interrupted Scorpius.  
  
“Sorry, Ma’am,” Scorpius called to her, blushing. He turned back to Albus. Whispering frantically, Scorpius said, “I’m ignorant. I don’t know how to act around you or what to say or do, and it’s because you can’t see. You can’t see the way I look at you and how I wish I could ask you how I’m supposed to act around you.  
  
“And, I get it. I’m just this annoying Ravenclaw and you’ve got a million other friends that you’d rather talk to, whether you believe me or not. But why do I have to be the one you fight on _everything_?”  
  
Scorpius stared at him and waited for whatever sarcastic retort was coming, but Albus’ mouth was just hanging open.  
  
“I’ve made Albus Potter speechless. Now there’s a sight,” Scorpius muttered.  
  
“I wouldn’t know about those,” Albus said automatically, instantly wincing after he did so. “Sorry, habit.”  
  
Scorpius let out an unamused laugh; Albus was making him hysterical, that was it. He buried his face in his hands.  
  
“I thought Azid and Peter were messing with me,” Albus said quietly. Scorpius looked over to where Madam Pince was still side-eying them. “And then Rose… oh my god, even Jennie. I’m an idiot.”  
  
“Won’t argue that,” Scorpius mumbled.  
  
Albus made an annoyed face at Scorpius for interrupting his thoughts.  
  
“You fancy me.”  
  
Scorpius’ heart stopped. “W—what?”  
  
“Rose said you fancy me; like really fancy me. I thought she was— oh my god, and Azid said—” Albus scrubbed his hands over his face and shut his eyes.  
  
“Azid needs to shut his mouth and finish his research on Lacewing Fly hatching locations for our Potions report before I strangle him.”  
  
“Wha—” Albus stuttered, dropping his hands. “That’s so not the point right now!”  
  
Scorpius knew his cheeks were burning, and not for the first time he was glad that Albus couldn’t see him. He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, go ahead then, laugh and reject me.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Seriously, Albus, even for you this is cruel. I’m going to leave. I’ll look forward to the public humiliation at dinner.”  
  
“Scorpius, bloody hell! Give me two seconds to process this!” Albus shouted.  
  
Madam Pince was at their table so fast, Scorpius swore she apparated over. He didn’t even have time to process the sound of Albus saying his first name for the first time ever, and in such an exasperated tone.  
  
“Out, get out! The Library is for reading, not for romancing! Mr. Malfoy, I expected better from you,” she scolded. “Mr. Potter, exactly as expected. Out!”  
  
“Oh my god, this is the second worst day of my life,” Scorpius muttered, burying his face in his hands. He was eternally grateful that there were only a few confused first years, and not a typical full Saturday Library crowd.  
  
“Okay, we’re leaving!” Albus muttered, tugging his cane out of his robes and extending it. Scorpius hated the way his heart stuttered at the way Albus said _we_.  
  
“Right, let’s prolong the rejection,” Scorpius muttered to himself, racing towards the exit.  
  
Once he was outside the Library he felt tears stinging in his eyes. All the years of being so careful around Albus, and he managed to ruin it all with one thoughtless outburst. He’d been so careless, and Albus was so much cleverer than Scorpius ever gave him credit for.  
  
“What was the worst day?” Scorpius jumped at the sound of Albus’ voice. He had his cane out in front of him and the fingers on his other hand were just barely touching the wall. He dropped his hand off the wall and ran it through his hair.  
  
“What?” Scorpius’ voice betrayed that he was about to cry, and he internally cursed.  
  
Albus twisted his cane between his hands and shrugged. “You said second worst day; what was the worst?”  
  
Scorpius scoffed and rubbed at his eyes. What was the worst that could happen, Albus would laugh even more? “Coming out to my arse of a father.”  
  
“Yikes,” Albus replied.  
  
He let out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s one way of putting it.”  
  
“My dad was on eggshells about it,” Albus said conversationally. He scratched at the side of his chin as if he was remembering the moment. Scorpius noticed Albus had a thin scar going from the tip of his eyebrow to the corner of his eye. He wondered if it had anything to do with Albus’ blindness, and what it would feel like to drag his thumb across it.  
  
He was done lying to himself. Albus was attractive! After all, Scorpius was about to be laughed at and rejected.  
  
“Eggshells?” Scorpius asked, curiosity momentarily outweighing embarrassment.  
  
“My dad overcompensated. He spent a load of Galleons on braille books about _Love and Lust between two Broomsticks_ – and I know you’re thinking I’m being witty, but that’s actually one of the book titles. They didn’t really stop until my uncle – he’s ace – slowed their roll and talked them down a bit. He and my mum had the entire family over and they all made rainbow candies. Well, I was told they were rainbow; I couldn’t actually see them, you know.”  
  
Scorpius thought that Albus may have been going for a laugh, but he was stuck on the fact that Albus was _annoyed_ that his family accepted him and loved him for who he was.  
  
“Right,” Scorpius muttered. “Well, I’d appreciate if you could keep the public humiliation to a minimum for the next eternity; goodbye.”  
  
“You didn’t deny it.”  
  
Scorpius stopped walking, closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “Please don’t, Albus.”  
  
“You also didn’t ask me what I thought,” Albus said, tone casual.  
  
Scorpius spun on his heel, feeling his shoulders tense. “What?”  
  
“The truth is, up until that day we had detention together, I really, really thought you hated me.”  
  
“You didn’t make it all that difficult,” Scorpius mumbled.  
  
“Oi,” Albus said defensively. “I kind of hated you too. I never really thought of you like _that_ until I realized how upset you were about that whole— thing. I didn’t know if I should believe it, or if it was just this weird thing my brain invented.”  
  
“That _thing_ , as in the entertainment you got out of arguing with me?” Scorpius suggested.  
  
“It sounds bad when you put it like that,” Albus muttered.  
  
“So, what? You fancy me?” Scorpius said, crossing his arms over his chest. A group of younger Gryffindors passed them, so Scorpius and Albus both waited in silence until they turned the corner.  
  
“I don’t know?” Albus replied in the tone of a question. “Maybe? I’ve never dated anyone. Or kissed anyone.”  
  
“Right,” Scorpius scoffed, rolling his eyes. “And I’ll make it on the Quidditch team next year.” Albus may have not been able to see it, but his murky green eyes and messy hair were really attractive. Scorpius knew he wasn’t the only one who thought so, and he knew Albus knew it.  
  
“I – I’m serious,” Albus mumbled. “As much as people act like it wouldn’t be a big deal, no one really wants to date the blind kid.”  
  
Scorpius watched the way Albus seemed to make himself smaller; the way he scuffed the toe of his trainer against the concrete floor. The action seemed so familiar and so distant at the same time; as if it was something that Albus often did, but that Scorpius had never seen.  
  
He felt like he was standing atop the Astronomy Tower, toes hanging over the edge. That feeling of hysterics that he always had around Albus was thrumming through his veins. He didn’t know if there was going to be a net at the bottom, but he knew he had to jump to find out.  
  
“That’s not true.”  
  
Albus’ breath hitched, and Scorpius looked up from the ground to see a shocked expression on the boy’s face. Scorpius wanted to smile at him, but he knew the small, ordinary gesture wouldn’t work. He knew he’d have to work a little harder, and the idea alone had his thoughts exploding with eagerness.  
  
“I would. If you gave me a chance, I would.”  
  
Scorpius’ heart was rampant in his chest as Albus mulled over the words. _He was thinking_ , Scorpius’ brain supplied. Albus was so guarded; he'd spent so much time building up the walls around him, that the threat of breaking them down had him silent as he stood frozen across from Scorpius.  
  
It would be so easy for them, Scorpius knew it would be. To go from heated bickering to playful banter to snogging under the Quidditch stands. Albus just had to give him a chance.  
  
"You want to date me," Albus stated. The words sounded foreign to him, like he wasn't sure if he was hearing Scorpius correctly.  
  
Scorpius took a tentative step forward, waiting for a reaction from Albus before taking another. Albus clenched his hand around his cane, and Scorpius saw how he was trembling.  
  
“I'd like to get to know you,” Scorpius said softly. "I'd like to be your friend, and if you find you can tolerate my ignorance and curiosity—" Scorpius broke off with a small chuckle when Albus laughed. He wished he could make the boy do it all the time. “If you can, then maybe we can try for something else.”  
  
Scorpius reached forward slowly and touched the tips of his fingers against the back of Albus' hand.  
  
"Friends," Albus said, seeming to test the word. Scorpius didn't move his hand until Albus turned his over and touched their fingers together. A small grin started to form at the corner of the boy's mouth, and Scorpius found himself wanting to kiss it away.  
  
They could do friends.


	6. six

Scorpius felt like he was walking on a cloud as he entered the Great Hall. Or maybe he was in a bubble, floating atop everyone else's petty lives and inane conversation.  
  
Albus didn’t hate him. Albus kind of maybe fancied him.  
  
Like all bubbles, his was quickly popped when he got to the Ravenclaw table.  
  
“You’re late,” Jia snapped. Her hair was still damp, and her cheeks were pink from where she had scrubbed away the red paint. “Where were you all afternoon? Slytherin won.”  
  
“I heard,” Scorpius said. “I was in the Library.” The best lie was the truth, right? Did it count as lying if he just omitted certain facts?  
  
“Told you,” Oliver said through a mouth full of potato mash.  
  
Jia made a face at him. “You didn’t even play today, can you take sensible bites?”  
  
“Practice tonight,” he said after he swallowed. “Matty wants to ‘take advantage’ of the terrible weather after seeing how Gryffindor bombed it today. We’re doing a night scrimmage against them because Oakwood is apparently a dictator of a captain. Professor Quibble approved it as long as it was only fourth years and above attending.”  
  
Jia let out a loud, annoyed sounding string of words. Scorpius thought it may have been Mandarin. She followed it – thankfully in English – with, “Rose and I were supposed to meet up and do Potions research tonight!”  
  
Scorpius looked up to the ceiling in the Great Hall to see it swirling with unrelenting storm clouds. Though the rain had subdued from earlier, he could still see spots where magical drops would fall and disappear, giving the illusion that it was still raining. “Who would _want_ to attend that?” he asked incredulously. His friends ignored him.  
  
“By research, you mean…” Oliver let his sentence trail, and Jia turned to Scorpius, eyebrows raised.  
  
“Uh—” Scorpius gripped his fork tighter in his hand.  
  
“No stupid, unwitty comment about Rose? You’ve spent too long reading again,” she said with an eye roll.  
  
Scorpius scoffed. “No such thing,” he replied automatically, grateful that his friends didn’t suspect anything.  
  
It wasn’t like he would never tell them. He just wanted a few moments where he could hide in his head and be happy about the fact that he and Albus actually spoke to one another.  
  
Jia rolled her eyes and turned back to Oliver. “I was supposed to comfort her for her loss and compliment her on what a good job she did!” she whined.  
  
Oliver’s laugh was loud enough that a few of the other Quidditch players turned to them. Jia made a face at Matty and Bruce – Ravenclaw’s Seeker – until they went back to their conversation. Oliver shrugged. “Helping Gryffindor will get us their support at the end of the month against Hufflepuff. We need it; everyone bloody loves the Hufflepuffs.”  
  
Oliver and Jia went through the meal arguing about Oliver _personally_ ruining Jia’s chances at a happy relationship, and Scorpius lost himself in his own thoughts.  
  
He and Albus could be friends. Albus wanted to be his friend, and maybe possibly something more in the future.  
  
Scorpius wondered what it would be like to kiss Albus. He wondered if he ran his fingers through Albus’ hair, if it would get even messier.  
  
He wondered how many times he could say Albus’ name in his head.  
  
A flying roll hit him in the middle of the forehead.  
  
“Jiang, you should try out for the Chaser spot next year!” Bruce shouted down the table, causing the surrounding Ravenclaws to laugh. Scorpius scoffed.  
  
“I’d prefer to master the Czech language and not break any of my bones,” Jia said nonchalantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder.  
  
“Is everyone just going to ignore Jia throwing bread at me?” Scorpius asked aloud. She was as bad as the straight boys.  
  
Bi boys. Whatever.  
  
“You had that look on your face you get when you’re thinking about Albus,” Jia said.  
  
“Except, with much less frowning than normal,” Oliver added thoughtfully.  
  
Scorpius scoffed at them, praying that it sounded genuine. “No I didn’t. Wasn’t. Shut up.”  
  
“Oh my god,” Jia squealed. She hit Oliver in the arm. “Spill, Malfoy.”  
  
“Can you—” Scorpius winced as he looked around towards their fellow Ravenclaws to see if anyone heard Jia’s outburst. “I don’t want to talk about this here.”  
  
“Oh my god, there’s something to talk about!” Jia hit Oliver again, and Scorpius wondered why he decided to befriend her in the first place.  
  
“Can we talk later?” Scorpius hissed, making a face at Jia. She scoffed and turned to Oliver, who was rubbing his arm and also glaring.  
  
“Fine. You owe me,” Jia said, pointing her fork menacingly at Scorpius, before stabbing a piece of chicken.  
  
Jia was a buzz of energy while they worked on coursework in the Great Hall after dinner and before the mock-match. Oliver insisted on help from both of them to catch up on his Potions presentation. Oliver’s partner for their term project, Gil, joined them as well to work before the impromptu scrimmage. Gil was a talkative Hufflepuff with dark hair and olive skin, and played as the Seeker on Hufflepuff’s team. Between both of their busy schedules and practices, the pair rarely had time to meet up and work.  
  
Gil and Oliver spent most of their short time asking Scorpius questions, leaving him little opportunities to ignore his own coursework and think about Albus.  
  
Scorpius and Azid had made good progress on their Polyjuice Potion; they decided to use their time to brew three batches, analyzing the theory that Fluxweed picked on different full moons had more potent effects. Scorpius hadn’t minded taking the reins of the project when Azid had Quidditch, as spending extra time in the Potions classroom with Theo was always fun for him. Azid was a lot smarter than Scorpius had originally realized, and never missed a beat in changing the conversation back to Albus when they were together.  
  
Scorpius felt like an idiot. He should have figured out Albus weeks ago with his best friend dropping hints.  
  
Letting his thoughts linger to Albus made Scorpius blush when Rose plopped down across from him a few moments later, the two Potter siblings following closely behind. Scorpius spared a few seconds to glance up at Albus. He had his hand on his sister’s arm to guide him through the bustling Great Hall. Scorpius looked away before he got caught staring by Lily or Jia. The last thing he needed was Jia catching him before he was ready to tell her.  
  
“Hey,” Rose said tiredly as she dropped on the bench next to Jia. Her short hair was still messy from the wind and she was still wearing her dirty Quidditch uniform. Lily looked just as terrifying as always.  
  
“Hi,” Jia breathed out. Scorpius clenched his jaw and tried not to laugh.  
  
Rose smiled politely. “I’m sure you’ve heard, but won’t be able to work on Potions tonight. Oakwood is literally the spawn of Voldemort, which we’ve all told him repeatedly.”  
  
Jia giggled. “It’s okay. Scorpius and I will be there anyway.” Before Scorpius could argue, Jia kicked him under the table. “We can’t wait to see it!” she added excitedly. Scorpius looked up and saw that Rose was holding back laughter at their exchange.  
  
“Brilliant,” the red-head said, grinning to Jia. She turned around to Albus. “The rain has stopped for the most part, Albus. Think you could handle it?”  
  
The dark haired boy had been quiet for the whole exchange. Scorpius wondered if he was listening to the patter on the windows, or if he was weighing his options. Maybe a combination.  
  
Albus gave a non-committal shrug.  
  
“You could come with us!” Jia said excitedly. Scorpius cringed as Rose beamed at her.  
  
Plans were quickly formed, and before Scorpius could get a word in, Rose and Lily had disappeared along with the rest of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw players, Oliver included, and Albus was sitting down next to him.  
  
“Uhh—hey,” Scorpius muttered, fidgeting with his quill and trying to will his nerves away.  
  
He was expecting Albus to make a _‘nice to see you’_ joke, so he was surprised when the boy just mumbled a quiet greeting. Scorpius wondered if Albus was actually nervous. He wondered if there was more to the smile Rose had given Jia, or why the girls suddenly trusted Jia enough to leave Albus in her care. Scorpius also wondered if he could get away with scooting closer to Albus without scaring him off.  
  
“What dragon did you choose to write about for Care of Magical Creatures, Albus?” Jia asked, making both Scorpius and Albus jump.  
  
“The Antipodean Opaleye,” Albus said a moment later. Scorpius watched from the corner of his eye as Albus seemed to relax a little. “I haven’t even started on the research,” he continued. “Transfiguration has been a bloody nightmare.”  
  
Jia nodded, and when Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her, she said, “Oh! Oh I’m sorry, yes it has been!”  
  
Albus turned to Scorpius, a grin starting to form. “Was she nodding?”  
  
Jia scoffed, and Scorpius chuckled. “She definitely was.”  
  
“I changed my mind,” Jia muttered. “I don’t want you two to date.”  
  
Scorpius felt his shoulders stiffen and the smile drop from his face. Slowly, he turned to Albus. Expecting to see the same expression, he was surprised when Albus was still smiling, despite the prickle of red on his cheeks.  
  
He ignored the small thought in the back of his head that wanted to see Albus’ skin flushed all the time.  
  
After Jia turned away, Scorpius leaned over to Albus. “I—I didn’t say anything to her,” he whispered so only Albus could hear.  
  
Albus shrugged. “I told Azid.”  
  
Scorpius’ shoulders dropped. “Of course you did.”  
  
Albus was grinning, and Scorpius couldn’t help but smile too. He thought about reaching under the table and grabbing Albus’ hand, maybe giving it a small squeeze to let him know he was definitely on board for _them_.  
  
In the end he chickened out. Albus and Jia continued to talk excitedly about their Care of Magical Creatures lessons while Scorpius tried to focus on his Herbology reading. It seemed like the time dragged by as Scorpius re-read passages and avoided touching his knee against Albus’.  
  
Even though the Slytherin – Gryffindor match had only been that morning, it still felt as if it was a lifetime away. Scorpius took Lily’s spot helping Albus, his hand a warm presence against Scorpius’ skin as they made their way through the muddy turf towards the Quidditch pitch. In front of them Jia was walking with Gil and a few of his friends from Hufflepuff, having tagged along after coursework. Scorpius wondered if she was giving them space on purpose, or if they’d just fallen behind.  
  
“I didn’t know what to tell her,” Scorpius suddenly confessed in continuation of their conversation in the Great Hall. “Jia. About us,” he elaborated. He felt Albus’ hand grip his arm tighter as they trekked across the uneven earth.  
  
Albus seemed to mull his answer in his head before saying, “Azid said I was smiling at dinner. He as good as figured it out himself. I sort of just… didn’t correct him. Apparently smiling after a Gryffindor loss tends to stick out.”  
  
Scorpius hummed, and looked to the ground to hide his smile. To cover up blurting out his thoughts of hiding under the stands and snogging Albus’ face off, he said, “We’re almost to the stairs.”  
  
Albus made a noise to let Scorpius know he’d heard him. Remembering their previous interactions, Scorpius kept his pace steady as he hiked up the stadium stairs with Albus at his side. Albus made no effort to slow them down, so Scorpius followed the group in front of them towards the top of the stands.  
  
Quickly finding seats, Scorpius looked out to the pitch to see that the two teams were warming up. Where the rain and Scorpius’ missing glasses were no longer the problems in visibility, it was made up for by the darkness of the night sky. He still had to squint to see the players.  
  
This time, however, Scorpius couldn’t find it in him to complain. Albus was sitting next to him, their thighs pressed together as they huddled together to combat the cold November air. Jia was on his other side, huddled next to Gil. They were becoming fast friends as they talked about the injustice of ancient Quidditch games using an actual live bird for a Snitch. Apparently Gil was a vegetarian; Scorpius wondered if he should remind Jia of the chicken she’d eaten at dinner, and decided for his safety he’d let her be.  
  
Without a referee, the impromptu game began with little warning.  
  
Scorpius looked around the stands as the players shot around the field after the Quaffle. Without the younger students and many of the older ones, the stands were mostly empty.  
  
He jumped when he felt Albus’ knuckles bump into his, and looked down to see the boy holding out his hand to grab. When Scorpius turned and looked at Albus, his expression was furrowed as he listened to the announcer – a fifth year Gryffindor girl whose name Scorpius could not remember. Scorpius tried to hide the way his hand was shaking as he went the last ten percent and grabbed Albus’ hand. When he looked at Albus again, the boy was smiling.  
  
If Scorpius was asked to recall the details of the match later that night, he wouldn’t remember anything past the fact that his fingers went numb and a lot of semi-illegal moves were pulled. Still, he didn’t let go of Albus’ hand for the whole match, even holding on as they left the stands and headed back to the castle. They earned matching grins from Jia and Gil, to which Scorpius stuck his tongue out at the laughing pair.  
  
Scorpius slowed his stroll when they made it towards the break-off of the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor towers. He wasn’t going to offer to walk with Albus back to the Gryffindor common room; he decided he was just going to head that way and not give Albus a chance to say no.  
  
If Albus caught on to Scorpius’ plan, he didn’t make any mention of it. They made small talk as they walked through the candlelight of the castle at night. Except for a few students getting back from the match, the corridors were quiet.  
  
“Next time, you should come to the Quidditch match with Jia and I,” Scorpius said as he led Albus up the final set of stairs. He glanced at the large woman in front of the Gryffindor common room, feeling slightly jealous that all they had to do was give the woman a word instead of work through a riddle.  
  
“Yeah?” Albus asked, giving Scorpius a small smile.  
  
“Definitely,” Scorpius said, squeezing Albus’ hand once more before reluctantly letting it go.  
  
Despite their newly found easy conversation for most of the night, Scorpius could feel the moment growing awkward as they stood in front of Gryffindor’s portrait hole. The busty woman in the picture was pretending not to stare at them. Scorpius grabbed Albus’ arm and pulled him a few steps to the side so they were out of her line of vision.  
  
“Well,” Scorpius mumbled at the same time as Albus said, “I— uh,”  
  
They both chuckled quietly. “You first,” Scorpius offered.  
  
“This friends thing isn’t going to work,” Albus blurted out.  
  
Scorpius froze, and he felt his breath hitch in the back of his throat. This was it. Albus gave him a chance for one evening, and he couldn’t stand to be around Scorpius.  
  
“Oh…” Scorpius mumbled. He took a step back towards the staircase.  
  
When Albus heard the tone of his voice, he immediately started talking. “No, wait! Bloody hell you jump to conclusions quickly.”  
  
“It’s a character flaw,” Scorpius muttered.  
  
Albus chuckled softly. “It’s just— I’ve never dated anyone. I don’t even know if I know how. My friends — everyone, I suppose — always acts like it wouldn’t be an issue—” Albus gestured towards his eyes. “But when it comes down to it, no one wants to date the blind bloke.”  
  
“Personally, it’s the charming demeanor that pushes me away,” Scorpius said pointedly.  
  
A sharp, surprised laugh slipped out of Albus. “You’re an arse.”  
  
“Takes one to fancy one,” Scorpius said, unable to help the smile fighting its way through.  
  
Albus’ chuckling subsided, and a thoughtful expression quickly formed. Scorpius watched as the boy seemed to struggle internally for a few moments. Just as he was about to tell Albus to just _say_ whatever he was going to say, Albus opened his mouth.  
  
“Can I feel your face?”  
  
Scorpius stared at him. “What?”  
  
“It’s really awkward asking Azid what you look like,” Albus said. “Well, I imagine it would be. I haven’t actually asked him, but I’m getting desperate. I haven’t… I remember what you look like when you were eleven, and it’s weird.”  
  
Scorpius looked over the features on Albus’ face. He looked at his messy mop of black hair, the small scar going from his left eye to the tip of his brow, the brilliant grey-green of his eyes. He’d been absolutely, one hundred percent lying to himself the years he told himself he wasn’t attracted to Albus. He wondered what it would be like to not know those things existed.  
  
“Yeah, alright,” Scorpius said quietly. He grabbed Albus’ hand and pulled him towards an emptier corridor. “Do – should I…”  
  
“Don’t talk,” Albus said, grinning. Scorpius rolled his eyes. He turned to stand directly across from Albus, and watched as the boy lifted his hand.  
  
“Put my hand on your shoulder,” Albus said after a moment.  
  
“Bossy,” Scorpius muttered, grinning after Albus laughed. Still, Scorpius reached up and placed Albus’ hand on his shoulder. Albus squeezed his shoulder and gave Scorpius a smile.  
  
Albus’ fingers danced along his collarbone atop his shirt; Scorpius closed his eyes when Albus’ fingers dragged up and along his neck. He couldn’t watch the way the corners of Albus’ eyes crinkled with curiosity while he had no idea what the feelings of his fingers were doing to Scorpius.  
  
“Can you grow a beard yet?”  
  
Scorpius laughed and opened his eyes back up. Albus’ face had gone serious, and he pressed his entire palm into the side of Scorpius’ neck. “Say something to me.”  
  
Albus had his eyes closed, and Scorpius wondered what the boy was seeing under the tips of his fingers.  
  
“My name is Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, and Albus Potter is touching my face,” he said, feeling Albus’ hand move as he pronounced each word. Albus chuckled and shifted his hand up. Scorpius closed his eyes again and gripped at the fabric of his robes.  
  
“No facial hair,” Albus muttered.  
  
“Sorry to disappoint,” Scorpius said as Albus rested his hand against his cheek. Albus chuckled and brought his other hand up to rest on the opposite side of Scorpius’ face. Soft fingers slid up his cheek and bumped into the temples of his glasses. Albus let out a surprised noise.  
  
“You wear glasses?” he asked, dragging his finger along the frame towards Scorpius’ ear.  
  
“They’re mostly just for reading. I get headaches if I don’t,” Scorpius said, voice barely above a whisper. He felt nervous, as if Albus would figure out what he looked like and decide this wouldn’t be worth it.  
  
Albus let out a “huh” and didn’t elaborate.  
  
The boy’s fingers were gentle as they slid back down to his cheeks. One hand went up and dragged along his forehead, while the other – the hand Scorpius usually saw Albus reading with – ran along his lips. Scorpius felt his pulse skyrocket as he pressed his eyes further shut. He couldn’t bear to see whatever kind of look Albus was giving him. He twisted his fingers in his robes to stop them from shaking.  
  
Resting the hand on Scorpius’ cheek, the other went up to touch Scorpius’ hair. “No hair gel?”  
  
“What?” Scorpius breathed. His lips still tingled from Albus’ touch. Peeking one eye open, he saw that Albus was giving him a small, private smile. Scorpius wanted to memorize the expression and think about it all the time.  
  
“I remember – the first train ride to Hogwarts, you had it slicked back with hair stuff,” Albus explained. “I sort of assumed—”  
  
Scorpius groaned. “My mum insisted. I hated it. I think I hated my hair more than I was nervous about being sorted.”  
  
Albus chuckled and ran his fingers through Scorpius’ hair. Scorpius could feel one side sticking up, but made no move to fix it. “I like this better,” Albus muttered.  
  
“Says you, Mr. perpetual bed-head,” Scorpius said with a laugh. Albus laughed as well, and dropped his hands to his sides. Scorpius quickly reached for them and intertwined their fingers, grounding himself.  
  
“Thanks,” Albus muttered, squeezing Scorpius’ hand.  
  
Scorpius didn’t ever want to let go. He knew he was blushing. “Yeah,” he finally muttered back. He wanted to ask Albus what he thought, what he was thinking, but any words died on his tongue; when he looked up, Albus had opened his eyes.  
  
Letting go of one of Albus’ hands, Scorpius brought his own up to Albus’ cheek and rested his palm against it. He moved forward slowly, giving Albus time to realize what Scorpius was doing.  
  
His kisses started slow, chaste and experimental, but it felt right in the moment. He moved his lips slowly, savoring in the small push coming from Albus. Scorpius ran his hand along Albus’ jawline and into his hair, just resting along his hairline as Albus finally parted his lips. Albus finally moved his hands onto Scorpius’ shoulders, squeezing them. Scorpius felt like they were a lifeline; the only thing keeping him from floating away.  
  
Friends didn’t work for he and Albus, and in that moment in the quiet corridor, as Albus twisted his fingers into Scorpius’ robes and pulled him closer, Scorpius was more than okay with that.


	7. seven

“How’s the project going? Are you and Azid ready to present on Friday?”  
  
Scorpius nodded to Theo. “We’re testing the surviving batch after class today; Rose is going to help us take down information.” He took a bite of the lunch sitting at the desk in front of him.  
  
Professor Nott grinned. “Tough act to follow, that speech on Amortentia she gave yesterday.” Scorpius grinned back, remembering the fear in his peers’ eyes at the end of Rose and Jia’s speech.  
  
“So, a boyfriend.”  
  
Scorpius dropped his fork. “Oh my god.” This was it. Scorpius was going to die at the tender age of sixteen.  
  
“And Potter at that.” Theo put his feet up on his desk and took another bite of his lunch with a thoughtful expression. After chewing his food and mulling over the idea, he said, “Didn’t see that one coming.”  
  
Scorpius knew his cheeks were flaming. He should have known when he got the invitation for lunch from Professor Nott that it wasn’t just a friendly catch up. He should have known the – totally one hundred percent amazingly true – rumor that Scorpius Malfoy was dating Albus Potter would have made it to the professors at Hogwarts.  
  
“Please don’t tell my parents,” he said in a small, embarrassed voice.  
  
Theo laughed. “I don’t actually have a death wish. You might, but I don’t.”  
  
Scorpius buried his face in his hands. “Can I go now?”  
  
“No, you’re having lunch with me.” Theo let out another sharp laugh when Scorpius groaned into his palms.  
  
When he looked up, Theo’s expression was entertained and thoughtful. “What?” Scorpius asked.  
  
“What about your mum?” he asked, his tone much softer.  
  
Scorpius shook his head, feeling guilty. “The school owls go to the window in my dad’s study at the manor, even if I address them to her.” He knew his mother would be thrilled to hear from him, and she wouldn’t care about the name or the gender of his very first boyfriend. He just couldn’t risk his dad finding out. Not yet. Not when everything with Albus was perfect.  
  
Theo nodded and didn’t press the topic, reminding Scorpius why the Potions Professor was his absolute favorite person in the world. Even if Professor Nott and his father were good friends since they went to Hogwarts, Theo wouldn’t say anything that Scorpius wasn’t ready to tell.  
  
“Your father…” Theo started, pausing for a moment. He sighed; “Your father didn’t move on like the rest of us after the war.” Theo sat up straight and set his plate down on his desk. “When your Aunt Daphne and the lot of us spent a lot of time getting out and talking to professionals about what happened and why, your father secluded himself in that manor. His father going to Azkaban hit him harder than it should have after everything.” Scorpius thought about the one time in his life he met his grandfather, and quickly pushed the memory away to listen to Theo’s story. “When he finally pulled himself out of it – thanks to your mother – the way he saw differences in people was really damaged.”  
  
“What about you and Anthony?” Scorpius asked. He instantly regretted his curiosity when Theo’s expression fell. Scorpius felt like crying. He knew Theo could see the myriad of emotions going across his face, but he didn’t take back his question.  
  
Theo was quiet for a bit while he thought about Scorpius’ question. Scorpius picked at his lunch, not feeling hungry after thinking about his dad.  
  
“I just want you to know, Scorpius, that I’m not talking to you about this so you go home and hate your father. You know he loves you, even if he doesn’t always show it.”  
  
“He just loathes the fact that I’m gay,” Scorpius said. It wasn’t a question, so Scorpius didn’t phrase it as one.  
  
Theo’s jaw tensed, giving Scorpius all the answers he needed. He felt tears burning in his eyes. His voice wavered as he muttered, “He’s okay with you and Anthony because it’s not his only son ending the Malfoy bloodline.”  
  
Scorpius heard Theo standing from his desk and walking over just as a wet streak ran down the side of his jaw. A sob escaped when Theo wrapped his arm around Scorpius’ shoulder.  
  
“I want you to listen to me before you react, Scorpius. I’m going to talk to your father—” Theo cut his sentence short when Scorpius yanked away from him.  
  
“You said you wouldn’t tell him!” Scorpius yelled through another sob. He was shaking when he stood and backed away from Theo. Everything he and Albus had was perfect, and his father would ruin it. His father would probably pull him out of Hogwarts and send him off to Durmstrang for dating a boy.  
  
“Scorpius, your father shouldn’t – and cannot – keep making you feel like this. Bloody hell, your father is so obsessed with bloodlines after all these years, he can’t see what he’s doing to his only son.”  
  
Scorpius felt another batch of tears roll down his jaw. He used the sleeve of his robe to rub them away. “You’re going to tell him, even though you said you wouldn’t.” He knew he sound like a child and he didn’t care.  
  
“I said I wouldn’t tell him about Potter, and I’m not going to. That’s something that every mother should hear directly from her own son.” Scorpius was grateful that Theo didn’t include his father in that scenario. “It’s been a long time coming that I need to have a talk with your father about the way he thinks about you and your orientation. Anthony and I are having tea with your mother over the weekend, and I’m going to bring up having a talk with your father at that time. If there’s anything you’d like to tell her, I can deliver a letter to her then.”  
  
Scorpius felt another batch of tears forming. He wasn’t sure if they were from relief or what Theo told him, but a wet laugh escaped before he could help it.  
  
“Albus tells me I don’t listen very well.”  
  
Theo let out a surprised laugh. “Sounds like you found a keeper.”  
  
*  
  
Scorpius really liked kissing Albus. He liked the way the boy made tiny gasps when Scorpius surprised him with kisses, and the way he bit his lip to hide his smile when Scorpius told him he was going to kiss him. It wasn’t like Scorpius had a lot of other kissing experience to go by, but kissing Albus was pretty much the greatest thing to happen to him in his entire Hogwarts career.  
  
He liked the feeling of Albus’ hand on his knee as they sat together in the empty potions classroom, a small, unsaid reminder that Albus was next to him. Scorpius smiled when Albus leaned his head against his shoulder as he read from the book in front of him. Without taking his quill off the parchment in front of him, he turned his head to press a kiss to Albus’ temple, right next to the scar he hadn’t quite worked up the courage to ask about.  
  
“Gross.”  
  
Albus lifted his head, his hand pausing to hold his place in his book.  
  
“You can’t say that, it’s homophobic,” Albus said to Azid. Scorpius snorted, glancing back at his copy of _Advanced Potion-Making_ to continue his thought. He scribbled a sentence onto his neatly organized notes for his and Azid’s presentation.  
  
He heard Azid scoff. “I tell Peter and Bridgette the same thing.”  
  
“You’re so unsupportive,” Albus complained.  
  
“You’re distracting my Potions partner! We have to present this to our class on Friday!” Azid retorted. “You’re not even supposed to be in the Potions lab.”  
  
“He’s not,” Scorpius said, writing another sentence onto his parchment. “Distracting me. And Professor Nott lifted that ban last year.”  
  
Of the three batches that he and Azid brewed, only one of them turned out to be a success. Polyjuice was far more difficult of a potion to brew than he and Azid anticipated, causing a re-write of their entire presentation. They decided instead to focus on the different effects of transformation from person to person. They were about to test their successful batch, once Rose arrived to help them document their transformation.  
  
The oldest Weasley was late.  
  
Albus and Azid continued arguing, Albus forgoing leaning against Scorpius to bicker with his friend. Scorpius ignored them, focusing on dividing up the potion into equal vials; enough so they could test the potion that day, with plenty leftover to demonstrate to the class later that week. Professor Nott would confiscate the rest after they presented.  
  
Azid told him about the time he accidentally tried the Polyjuice potion when he was little, about how he remembered growing eleven inches in a matter of seconds. He told Scorpius how he remembered feeling his bones growing and the color of the potion being sunshine yellow. Azid warned him that it wouldn’t hurt, but he was still nervous.  
  
Just as he labeled and sealed off the vials that they’d be using in class for their demonstration, the door to the Potions classroom flew open, and a flurry of red hair barreled through.  
  
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry I’m late!” Rose said as she scurried over to them. Her cheeks were pink like she’d ran across the castle.  
  
“It’s fine, Rose,” Scorpius said. He looked over to Azid. “Are you ready?”  
  
“For twenty minutes now,” Azid replied. Scorpius watched Rose make a face at them both as she snatched the parchment out of his hands.  
  
“Have you added the hairs?” Rose asked. “Why is Albus here? I thought he was banned from the Potions labs.”  
  
“Just here to watch and observe,” Albus called from the desk, fingers still running across his book. Azid let out a loud groan at Albus’ joke and Rose rolled her eyes.  
  
“Well? Hairs?” Rose asked. Scorpius winced as he plucked out one of his own hairs and handed it over to Rose. Azid did the same, and they watched as she dissolved both of them into the lumpy, grey mixture. Scorpius quickly jotted down how Azid's potion bubbled turned a bright blue, while his own potion fizzed and turned a deep purple.  
  
Scorpius grimaced. "I’m going to vomit. We should have done this in a bathroom."  
  
Rose ignored him, handing both of them completed vials. Scorpius held the liquid as far away from himself as he could. "Professor Quibble has a Pensive that he lets older students use for projects." Scorpius told Azid. "We can look at Rose's memories after if we don't write down enough.  
  
Azid nodded, eying the vial in his hand. He nodded to it. "Should we?"  
  
Nodding, Scorpius brought the mixture up under his nose and sniffed. If warmth and spice had a smell, that would be the word he would use to describe it. He waited until Azid finished writing on his own parchment, and with another nod, Scorpius downed the blue liquid.  
  
Time felt like it slowed as the empty vial fell from Scorpius hand and shattered onto the floor. He closed his eyes, bringing his hands to the top of his head as he felt the hair shrink back into his scalp. His skin itched and his hands shook as he felt the muscles in his arms expand.  
  
Scorpius waited until the room stopped spinning before speaking. "Am I dead?" Even though he felt the words coming out of his mouth, they were spoken in Azid's voice. Surprise had him opening his eyes to a blurry figure in front of him.  
  
He blinked a few times to try to get his vision to clear, and began to panic when it wouldn't. Reaching up to rub his eyes, he bumped dark fingers into the frames of his glasses. Slowly, he pulled the frames off his nose and Rose instantly cleared in front of him. She was staring at him, quill hovering above the parchment.  
  
Testing himself, he brought the glasses up and down a few times, watching as Rose went from blurry to clear.  
  
"I can see your hair," Scorpius said, taking his glasses off and staring at Rose. "I can see all of the strands of your hair. I can't do that without my glasses."  
  
"Well hand them over then."  
  
If it was weird to hear himself speak as Azid Isa, it was even weirder seeing himself speak in his own voice from across the room. Scorpius took hesitant steps; he felt like he was going to fall over with all of this added muscle. He actually could see a perk of Quidditch. He walked over to Azid, staring at the three-dimensional reflection of himself.  
  
"I don't know how you live like this," Azid said, taking Scorpius' glasses from him.   
  
He and Azid both fell quiet as they looked to Albus. The boy's hand was still, forgoing reading to listen with a furrowed brow. Rose seated herself at one of the desks, scribbling furiously onto the parchment in front of her. Azid turned away, heading for the mirror near the potions’ supply closet.  
  
Scorpius blinked again. He looked down to Albus’ book, where he could see the bumps from the braille on the pages. He stared at Albus, spiraling thoughts escaping him.  
  
Polyjuice gave him perfect vision. What if a blind person took it?


	8. eight

Scorpius knew it was wrong the second he did it.  
  
The thing was though, he knew he could get away with it.  
  
After his and Azid’s presentation - which was an astounding success, thanks to Rose’s help documenting their changes - Professor Nott seized the remaining Polyjuice Potion from them. Scorpius figured as much, since it wasn’t exactly something he could let teenagers keep in their unsupervised possession.  
  
Scorpius just didn’t tell Professor Nott about the vial he stashed in his knapsack before class.  
  
The bag felt like it was burning a hole in his side as he walked out of Double Potions with Oliver. Jia was ahead of them with Rose and Gil.  
  
“—tomorrow?”  
  
Scorpius looked up at Oliver. “What? Sorry.”  
  
Oliver chuckled. “ _I said_ , are you as relieved as I am for Hogsmeade tomorrow? You know, a casual conversation that friends participate in?”  
  
Scorpius tried not to look guilty. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to go. Professor Xiao has been hinting at a big quiz before Christmas holiday.” His palms felt sweaty.  
  
It was a lie, of course. Scorpius didn’t risk detention – or worse – just to not bring the Polyjuice Potion with him and Albus to Hogsmeade.  
  
“Hinting at,” Oliver stressed. “Not actually confirmed, therefore irrelevant.”  
  
“How exactly were you sorted into Ravenclaw?” Scorpius asked.  
  
“I like _learning_ things, I just don’t like _doing_ things,” Oliver said. He grinned when Scorpius rolled his eyes. “I assumed you’d go with Albus. In fact, I made plans to go with Gil and Jia because I assumed you had plans with Albus. If you don’t have plans with Albus please tell me so I don’t have to hang out with the two vegetarians at The Three Broomsticks.”  
  
“Gil’s not still on about Hufflepuff’s win, is he?” Scorpius asked.  
  
Oliver chuckled. “He was never _on about_ the win, he was just happy his team won.”  
  
“Well good, because I don’t think I can stand to hear you lot go on about Quidditch any longer.”  
  
Not that Scorpius didn’t have an absolutely _perfect_ time spending the cold November day of the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff match wrapped up next to Albus. Not that Albus didn’t rest his hand on Scorpius’ knee the entire time as he joked around with Rose and Jia. Scorpius definitely wasn’t sick of those things.  
  
“Tough luck, we play Slytherin in January. You have until after Christmas Holiday,” Oliver said.  
  
Scorpius rolled his eyes. “Have you gotten word back from your parents if they’ll let you skip their Christmas and travel with Jia’s family?”  
  
Oliver grinned. “Letter came in the mail this morning. I am going to Mumbai!” Scorpius laughed as a few surrounding students turned and stared at Oliver.  
  
“Do you speak Hindi?” Scorpius asked him. “I can’t keep up with the pair of you.”  
  
“Jia knows a bit; we’re doing a crash course before school lets out,” Oliver told him. “Her mum’s fluent, so she’s going to help us on the way to Mumbai.”  
  
“Excited?” Scorpius asked.  
  
Oliver’s smile widened. “I’ve never left the UK; it’s going to be brilliant.”  
  
“I wish I could go with. Two weeks at Malfoy Manor with my parents and grandmother is going to be a nightmare.”  
  
“Meeting up with Albus at all?” Oliver asked.  
  
“He invited me to Boxing Day lunch at his grandparents’, but I haven’t brought it up to my parents yet,” Scorpius told him.  
  
“Have you even told your parents about Albus?”  
  
Scorpius shook his head. He didn’t want to think about seeing his parents at King’s Cross in a week, fresh off a discussion with Theo about Scorpius’ sexuality. He hadn’t heard from his mother or father since Theo talked to them, suspecting they were waiting until Christmas to have a ‘talk’.  
  
Thinking about Theo made Scorpius remember the vial in his bag.  
  
“I’ll meet you in the Great Hall,” Scorpius said, pointing towards the staircase towards Ravenclaw Tower. “I forgot my Arithmancy book in trunk this morning.” It was another lie, but Oliver didn’t catch him. Scorpius waved goodbye to his friend and jogged up the stairs towards Ravenclaw Tower to hide the potion.  
  
After answering the riddle to Ravenclaw Tower, Scorpius took the dormitory stairs two at a time. As he opened the door a cloud of smoke wafted towards him.  
  
“Oi!” Elias was wide eyed as he made a pathetic attempt to hid what he was smoking behind his back.  
  
Scorpius rolled his eyes. “You’re lucky I’m not Jeremy, he’d take points from Ravenclaw in a heartbeat for that,” he told Elias. “And none of my stuff better smell like… that.” Scorpius walked over to his trunk, feeling Elias’ eyes on him the whole time. He pretended to rifle through his things, stashing the potion as he did.  
  
Excitement filled him at the thought of Hogsmeade the next day. If everything went according to plan, Albus would be able to see again.  
  
*  
  
Scorpius gripped Albus’ hand tighter as they followed the path towards the old Shrieking Shack. He had the Polyjuice Potion in his cloak pocket, and it bumped against his chest as they trekked through the snow.  
  
“You’re acting weird,” Albus commented. “Weirder than normal, I should say.”  
  
“Thanks,” Scorpius muttered. “We’re almost there.”  
  
“You do remember that whatever cool, exciting thing you’re dragging me to, I’m not going to be able to see, right?” Albus said.  
  
Scorpius rolled his eyes. “I’m not bringing you anywhere cool and exciting.”  
  
“I should have known, I’d never use those words to describe you,” Albus said. In retaliation, Scorpius started walking diagonally until Albus’ shoulder dragged against a snowy bit of shrubbery. He heard Albus gasp as the cold wet snow got under his jacket collar.  
  
“Git,” Albus muttered fondly.  
  
Scorpius laughed, and kept up their trek until they reached the edge of the city. There was a small clearing with one large tree; Scorpius brought Albus over to it. He dropped Albus’ hand and reached into his robes. With a quick flick of his wand, he transfigured his scarf into a blue knitted blanket and set it up facing away from Hogsmeade Village.  
  
He walked back over to Albus and took both of his hands in his. “We’re at the uncool, boring spot.”  
  
Albus gave him a crooked smile. “I’m having an awful time.”  
  
Scorpius leaned forward and kissed him. He felt Albus’ smile under his lips for a second before he returned the gesture. After a moment, Scorpius pulled away and took small steps back until both he and Albus were standing on the blanket. He let go of one of Albus’ hands and sat on the blanket, using the other to pull the boy down with him.  
  
“I thought it would be nice to get away from everyone. It just seems like we’re always surrounded by other people at school.” Scorpius sat with his legs crossed so his knees bumped Albus’.  
  
“Yeah, I really wasn’t looking forward to hanging out with Rose and Jia and Peter’s Ex. Oliver’s cool though.”  
  
“You have to stop calling Gil Peter’s Ex to his face,” Scorpius told him. “And in general.”  
  
Albus shook his head in an exaggerated fashion. “Gryffindor solidarity. He broke Peter’s heart.”  
  
“I didn’t know you knew a big word like solidarity,” Scorpius mocked. “Gil’s really nice, you shouldn’t be a git to him.”  
  
“He’s a Hufflepuff, they have to be nice,” Albus argued.  
  
Scorpius rolled his eyes. “I didn’t drag you all the way out through the snow to talk about the friends we’re avoiding.” He felt his heartbeat race, so he wrapped his hands around Albus’.  
  
“You’re still acting weird,” Albus pointed out.  
  
Scorpius let out a nervous chuckle. He looked down to their hands, thinking about the tiny vial he had stashed in his robe pocket.  
  
“Are you excited for Christmas?” Scorpius asked.  
  
Albus’ expression was confused. “Yes? Will you please just say whatever you’re going to say.”  
  
Scorpius’ heart thudded in his chest. “Okay.” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Giving Albus’ fingers a quick squeeze, he let go with one hand and dug into his robes, touching the vial. “The thing is, I wanted to… I’ve been meaning to—”  
  
“You want to know how I lost my sight, right?” Albus interrupted.  
  
Scorpius paused with the vial in his palm. He stared at Albus, at the scar next to his eye, at the murky green color that was offering to let Albus’ infuriating guard down.  
  
He wanted to know.  
  
He dropped the vial back into his pocket. “Yeah. That obvious?”  
  
Albus chuckled. “I’m honestly surprised you didn’t ask sooner. You don’t really hold back the questions. Ever. Like, _ever_ —”  
  
“I get it,” Scorpius said, dropping his empty hand down on top of Albus’. “If you don’t want to tell me you don’t have to. You— I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”  
  
“It was a Death Eater, left over from the war,” Albus said. “There are a lot of them in Azkaban, but a lot more that aren’t. Most of those ones have fled Great Britain, but… not all of them."   
  
Scorpius looked down to their hands intertwined with each other. He thought about his father who always wore long sleeves around Malfoy Manor. Thought about the one time he saw the place on his father’s arm where the skin was burnt and scarred, stained with faded black ink.  
  
“What happened?” He asked.  
  
“I was in Diagon Alley with my dad the summer between first and second year. James just made it on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and I was jealous, so Dad offered to take me to the Quidditch Supply Shop, just us, to get my mind off of it.” Albus talked with his eyes closed, which was something Scorpius noticed he did when they had serious conversations.  
  
“The spell was aimed for him. The Healers said it would have just stunned my dad, but I was younger and it hit me in the eyes. They did everything they could at St. Mungo’s, but since it was spell damage, they couldn’t bring my sight back. I remember only being able to see the flash of red as I went through a lot of different procedures. I still see it sometimes, when I’m sleeping,” he added casually, as if Scorpius wasn’t supposed to want to hug him and never let him go.  
  
Albus continued; “None of the procedures worked, and finally my mum had to step in. My dad wanted them to keep trying; I don’t think he would have stopped.  
  
“I remember waking up after the last surgery in the hospital, and before I even opened my eyes I knew. I could hear my dad crying in the chair next to the bed; I remember thinking in that moment that I couldn’t let him ever feel like it was his fault.”  
  
“It wasn’t,” Scorpius said quietly. He felt wetness slide down his cheek, and he wiped it away on his sleeve. He wondered if his own father knew the man responsible, or was even personally acquainted.  
  
“I know,” Albus replied. “But that’s how my dad is. He’ll always carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. So, I started acting like I was fine, until I was. I figured my way around our house and visited the castle a week before classes started second year to memorize the layout and the stairs. My dad was helpful, of course, but it was always like walking on eggshells around him. It still is, sometimes. If I make jokes about it, he doesn’t follow me around the house with a cane as much.”  
  
Scorpius reached across the blanket and touched the top of Albus’ cheek. Albus still had his eyes closed, and he leaned his head so it was resting in Scorpius’ hand.  
  
“Did they ever look into any other types of help or fixes?” Scorpius asked him.  
  
Albus sat up. “Like what?”  
  
“Like a helper animal, or potions you could take every day,” Scorpius said.  
  
“I don’t even know if there are potions that could help. I don’t know if you remember, but I’m not particularly gifted in that class.” Albus grinned when Scorpius chuckled.  
  
“Well…” Scorpius said, “Actually, I was thinking the other day.”  
  
“Shocking,” Albus deadpanned.  
  
“Shush. I was thinking about last week when we tested out the Polyjuice Potion. Remember how I could see without my glasses when I drank Azid’s potion?”  
  
Scorpius was expecting Albus to make some sort of comment about drinking Azid’s hair, but the boy was quiet. He waited while Albus processed the thought that came to him days prior.  
  
“You think I would be able to see,” Albus said quietly.  
  
“Polyjuice transforms you completely, even senses. If I could see perfectly, I would conclude that it would give you your vision back.”  
  
Albus frowned. “It would give me someone else’s vision. Temporarily. And it took you a month to brew and you only had one successful batch out of three, which Azid told me Professor Nott confiscated."  
  
Scorpius stuck his hand back in his robes and pulled out the vial. As he placed it in Albus’ hands, he said, “not all of it.”  
  
Albus’ eyes widened as he moved the vial around in his hand, feeling every spot of it.  
  
“Please tell me this isn’t what I think it is,” Albus said.  
  
“I couldn’t get enough for it to last very long without Nott noticing,” Scorpius told him. He tried to keep his excitement contained. He so badly wanted to give this to Albus. “It will probably last an hour, if that.”  
  
Scorpius watched as Albus fidgeted with the vial, brow creased. After a moment, he lifted his head. “I can’t take this.”  
  
Scorpius frowned. “Ok. It’s okay. You can have time to think about it. I know it’s a—”  
  
Albus squeezed the vial, furrowed brow a hard line. “No, Scorpius, I don’t need time to think. I’m not taking it. Bloody hell, what are you thinking? Is that all this is, just some chance to experiment?”  
  
“What? No! I—”  
  
“You want to fix me, is that it?” Albus was fuming. He held up the vial. “This isn’t a fix, Scorpius, this is false hope! What is this supposed to show me? That I have to live as someone else for the rest of my life if I ever want to see again?  
  
“I’m blind, Scorpius, and yeah it sucks sometimes, it bloody does. But I don’t need to be fixed.” Albus stuck his hand into his robes and pulled out his cane.  
  
“Albus.” Scorpius’ throat felt tight.  
  
“Take me back to Rose, Scorpius,” Albus said, standing.  
  
“Albus, I’m sorry, I didn’t—” Scorpius scrambled to stand after him.  
  
“You know, it’s so typical _Malfoy_ , trying to make sure everyone fits into one little box of perfection. And if anyone is a little different, let’s just bloody fix them!”  
  
Scorpius reeled back as if he’d been stunned right in the chest.  
  
“Please just take me back to Rose.” There was a finality and a sadness in Albus’ tone that kept Scorpius from trying to explain himself. Albus was holding out his arm as fury swam in his eyes. It killed Scorpius to know how upset Albus was about having to ask him for help.  
  
Scorpius said nothing as they walked back to Hogsmeade. He tried to form a coherent thought to explain to Albus, but Albus’ words resonated harshly through his mind.  
  
 _So typical Malfoy_.   
  
Oliver and Jia were sitting with Rose and Gil outside The Three Broomsticks, and Albus lifted his head when he heard Rose speak. “Wow, back from your date already? Was Albus that awful of a snog?”  
  
“Rose—” Albus muttered.

 

Rose’s eyes widened when she realized Albus. Scorpius felt nauseated and helpless as Rose grabbed Albus away from him and dragged him away from the group. He wanted to call out how sorry he was, but his words failed him as he watched them walk towards the castle.


	9. nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: the tag for referenced homophobia is because of this chapter. two characters discuss one's previous homophobia towards the other. if you need more information before reading, please see the note at the end of the chapter.

As Scorpius sat and stared out of the iced over window of the Hogwarts Express, it wasn’t quite how he imagined things were going to go.  
  
He thought he’d get to sit with Albus, fresh out of their Transfiguration quiz (which he aced). They’d sit close together with their friends around them, ignoring Jia and Gil chatting on about the latest Hogwarts social injustice. They’d try to get Oliver in on the conversation, but he’d be asleep, so relieved to be done with school and Quidditch practice for the rest of the year. He would try not to laugh as Albus would whisper Rose’s words in a mocking tone into his ear, and he’d shiver and smile when Albus would kiss his neck to end his sentence.  
  
As always, things didn’t go according to Scorpius’ plans.  
  
He pressed his cheek against the window, closing his eyes as the cool glass gave his skin a bit of relief. All the years he spent fighting with Albus, he never thought he’d be this upset when the boy refused to speak to him.  
  
Peeking an eye open, he spotted Oliver leaning against the opposite wall and falling asleep, Gil seated next to him reading. Scorpius looked to where Oliver’s knee was sleepily bumped against Gil’s, and chuckled to himself.  Albus ignoring Scorpius meant Albus was glued to Rose, which meant Jia was missing as well. It wasn’t that Jia was mad at him – she promised repeatedly – it was just that Jia was so close to a ‘feelings breakthrough’ with Rose, that she couldn’t bear to be away from her side. Gil refused to get in the middle and stayed with Oliver and Scorpius.  
  
Apparently.  
  
“Are your mum and dad meeting you at King’s Cross?” Oliver asked him, revealing that he wasn’t fully asleep.  
  
Scorpius opened his eyes. “Just my mum,” Scorpius told him, “My dad’ll be working, I guess.”  
  
“That’s good,” Oliver replied.  
  
Scorpius chuckled at that. “If I can manage to stay in my room for the entire break it’ll be a miracle. Are you absolutely sure I can’t fit in your suitcase to Mumbai?”  
  
“I already called that spot,” Gil said, looking up from his book. “We’re staying at my Muggle grandparents’ house. I’m allergic to cats, they have five of them. I’m a vegetarian, they kill their own turkeys for Christmas dinner.”  
  
Scorpius and Oliver both laughed, and Scorpius let Gil and Oliver’s random conversation fill his head until they got to London. With quick goodbyes and even a hug from Jia, Scorpius found his mother in the crowd and dragged his Hogwarts trunk towards her. He rolled his eyes when his mother ran up the rest of the way and wrapped him up in a suffocating hug.  
  
“I love you so much and I missed you so, so, so much,” she muttered in his hair. He could tell she was trying not to cry. No question on where he got that gene from. “I’m so happy you have these on,” she said as she touched her fingers to the sides of his glasses.  
  
When his mum let go he gave her an embarrassed smile. “I missed you too, Mum.” He looked around and prayed that no one was paying them any attention.  
  
Maybe he was just feeling sorry for himself or even lonely, but Scorpius let his mother wrap her arm around his waist as they walked together towards one of the apparition points. He wasn’t sure if Theo ever got around to talking to her about the way his dad acted around him, so he wanted to keep his mouth shut about the topic as much as possible. If he was lucky enough he could avoid the orientation conversation for the entire winter break.  
  
“Ready?” his mum asked when they reached the Apparition point. Scorpius nodded and closed his eyes, cringing at the tug in his stomach as they instantly went from the bustling King’s Cross station to the snow-covered walkway up to his home.  
  
“Dad’s still at work, right?” Scorpius asked as they walked up the steps towards the front door.  
  
His mother tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and pursed her lips. “Mmm, I don’t know, sweetheart.”  
  
Scorpius sighed and, with a great deal of hope, opened the front door to Malfoy Manor.  
  
Scorpius had a lot of mixed feelings about the home he grew up in. On the one hand, when he was a child he loved the carefree way he could run through the halls that never seemed to end. He could always have snacks whenever he felt like it, and he could even slide down the giant spiral staircase banister with a terrified elf tutting after him.  
  
As he grew up the things he loved the most about the house turned into the things he hated. The hallways radiated loneliness. The elves that his father kept without the Ministry of Magic knowing; the things that he learned happened here while his father was his age. Even the staircase where his mother stood when he finally came out to his father was just a ruined memory for him.  
  
“Will you come with me to the sitting room before you get too settled?” his mum asked.  
  
“Uh, sure,” Scorpius said, following her. Nerves suddenly built in his stomach as his mother’s demeanor changed from being excited to see him at King’s Cross to not even being able to look him in the eye as they walked past the formal dining room towards the sitting room.  
  
In retrospect, Scorpius felt like he should have known.  
  
If his mum hadn’t grabbed his hand and firmly laced her fingers through his, Scorpius definitely would have turned back around and booked it for his bedroom. Even as she held on he tried to make an escape, until Theo spoke.  
  
“Scorpius, wait.”  
  
“I’m okay, thanks,” Scorpius said, reaching for the door handle. His mother squeezed his hand and he squeezed his eyes shut.  
  
“Scorpius, please,” Theo said.   
  
Opening his eyes, Scorpius looked right to his mother, before skimming right over his father and to Theo. “What is this, a fucking ambush?”  
  
“Scorpius,” his mother scolded.  
  
“Really?” Scorpius asked her. He could already feel a lump forming in the back of his throat.  
  
“Scorpius, your father has some things he’d like to say to you,” Theo said, taking the role of the leader.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Scorpius willed his voice to sound normal and not like he was about to cry as he said, “this’ll be bloody brilliant.”  
  
With a small tug, Scorpius let his mother led him over to the chairs across from his father and Theo.  
  
“I definitely thought I could just make it through winter holiday by pretending I didn’t exist, but I guess that’s not going to happen.”  
  
“Scorpius…” his father started, and Scorpius wanted nothing more to run. He looked to his father and felt wetness forming in his eyes. “There isn’t a good excuse for the way I’ve been treating you since you came out to your mother and I. It’s been horrible, and I fully understand why you’re feeling the way you are right now. I know – well, Theo has helped me understand that there is a big difference between saying that I accept you for being… gay, and showing that I accept you.” His father paused and Scorpius found it hard to keep looking at him. He broke the eye contact and twisted his fingers in his lap.  
  
If Scorpius was being completely honest, it sounded like his father was spoon fed all of the things he was saying right from Theo. Scorpius sighed; he was exhausted. “Whatever, Dad, it’s fine.”  
  
He watched as his dad’s jaw clenched, and before he could speak, Theo intervened. “Scorpius, your father is trying very hard to do better.”  
  
Scorpius felt anger bubbling up in his stomach. “And he sure has been a shitty enough parent that one half assed apology won’t make up for.” He looked to his mother. “Are we done here? I’m exhausted, I’ve been stuck in finals all week.” The tears in his eyes kept building and he knew if he looked anywhere but right ahead, tears would fall. “I need to—”  
  
This time his mother didn’t protest when he made for the exit. His vision blurred as he made a beeline for the staircase and wetness fell from his eyes, catching the rims of his glasses. Feeling much like a petulant teenager, he slammed his bedroom door and curled up on his bed. In the safety of his own room, he finally let himself cry to the pain that was building up for weeks. He cried at messing things up with Albus, at the way Albus’ expression morphed when he realized what Scorpius was trying to offer. He cried that he couldn’t take it back and that Albus wouldn’t hear him out.  
  
He cried about his father. How it felt like it was too late for whatever his father had to say. Theo told him not to hate his father but Scorpius couldn’t imagine a way that they could go back to being a normal father and son. Even as his father gave his apology Scorpius could only hear the way his father bitterly talked about the Malfoy bloodline ending at Scorpius.  
  
He wasn’t sure if it was minutes or hours when there was a knock on his door.  
  
“Go away.”  
  
Scorpius was a teenager and he was allowed to act like one.  
  
“Scorpius, can I come in?” Theo asked from the other side of his door.  
  
“Are you also going to surprise dump my father on me? Because to be honest I’ve had enough of that for a while.”  
  
“Just me,” Theo said.  
  
Scorpius sighed and opened his door, walking away to let Theo enter himself. Theo was quiet, so Scorpius spoke.  
  
“I stole a vial of Polyjuice Potion from our presentation and tried to give it to Albus to see if he could see, and he hasn’t spoken to me since.”  
  
Theo said nothing, so Scorpius continued to talk as tears continued to fall.  “And I shouldn’t even be upset at what Albus said because he was right, I’m just like  _him._ ”  
  
“Sounds like a rough week,” Theo said, sitting next to him on his bed. Scorpius let out a very bitter laugh. “And it sounds like you’ve punished yourself enough that I won’t be reporting you for stealing the potion.”  
  
There was a beat of silence before Theo spoke again. “Scorpius, this isn’t me picking sides, but I think I just watched your dad’s heart break as you stormed off.”  
  
Scorpius clenched his jaw. “I just… I don’t know how to just go back to being normal.”  
  
Theo nodded. “You’re right, it’s probably not going to be easy. And I think you owe it to your dad to make it at least a little difficult.”  
  
“What if I can’t?” Scorpius whispered.  
  
“You know, I don’t talk to my parents anymore,” Theo said. Scorpius looked up to him, surprised. “It’s true. We usually just spend Hanukkah with Anthony’s family. My parents were very, very deep into Voldemort’s inner circle, and they’re still rotting in Azkaban for it. The last time I visited and told them I was marrying a Jewish man, they told me to never come back.”  
  
“That’s horrible,” Scorpius said, wanting to cry all over again.  
  
“It is, and it hurts every single day. That’s also why I would feel so horrible if I didn’t do everything in my power to make sure you don’t ever have to go through something like that. Your father is waiting on the top of the staircase; is it okay if I bring him in here?”  
  
Against everything running through Scorpius’ head, he nodded.  
  
Scorpius stared at his hands while Theo left the room, and continued to look anywhere but the door even as his father entered. Theo wasn’t behind him and his mother was nowhere to be seen, so it would just be the two of them.  
  
His father sat in the creaky desk chair across from him and sighed. “I hate seeing you like this, Scorpius, and I hate, hate that I’m the reason that you’re feeling so much pain. I want you to know that… that I know I can’t go back and change anything, and you can have as much time as you need, but when you’re ready I’ll be here for you no matter who you love.”  
  
Scorpius looked up. “Even if I  _end the Malfoy bloodline_? If I marry a guy and we adopt a Muggle-born orphan?” Scorpius took a shaky breath. “If I decide I don’t want kids at all? If I take my partner’s last name?” His exhale came out as a horrid sounding sob and he buried his face in his hands.  
  
It wasn’t more than a second later that Scorpius heard his father get up, and before he could look his dad was sitting on the bed next to him and pulling him against his chest. Scorpius couldn’t help the wretched sounding sobs that escaped even if he wanted to. He felt his father smoothing down his hair as he held him.  
  
“I’m so sorry, Scorpius, I’m so sorry,” his father said; Scorpius could hear all of the guilt and despair in his father’s whispered apologies, and for the first time in a long while, Scorpius felt like his father’s words were true.  
  
“Dad, I screwed things up so bad,” Scorpius said between sobs.  
  
“Scorpius, you didn’t do anything wrong,” his dad said, letting him go.  
  
“At school, Dad,” Scorpius whispered. “I… I was kind of dating someone.”  
  
In another world, Scorpius definitely would have laughed at his father’s expression.  
  
“Was?” his father asked.  
  
Scorpius looked down to his hands. “I… uh, I really messed up and he hasn’t talked to me since.” Scorpius would give his dad credit for not even flinching at the pronoun Scorpius used.  
  
“What happened?”  
  
_Well, here goes._ __  
  
“Uh, you know how Harry Potter’s younger son is in my grade?”  
  
His dad chuckled, before quickly putting on a serious expression. “I seem to remember one or two conversations between you and Oliver that Albus wasn’t exactly your favorite person.”  
  
Scorpius thought his face probably couldn’t get any redder.  
  
“Uh… well, that changed.”  
  
There was a pause. “Changed, as in…”  
  
Nope, there were still shades of red to be experienced.  
  
“As in we were dating and I screwed it up and now he won’t talk to me,” Scorpius said in one breath.  
  
“Well,” his father said, “If he’s Potter’s kid it was probably at least partly his fault.”  
  
Scorpius gave his dad one courtesy chuckle. “Pretty sure this one was my fault. I… I tried to give him stolen Polyjuice Potion so he could see, and he thought I was trying to fix him to make him normal.” He really wished there was some sort of limit on the tears one person could cry during a day. “I just… there isn’t anything about him I’d ever want to change, and I wish he would just listen to me long enough for me to tell him that.” Scorpius hesitated before he added, “Sorry.”  
  
His father pulled him into another hug. “I don’t want you to ever, ever even think you have to apologize to me about who you’re dating ever again.”  
  
“Even if it’s Harry Potter’s kid?”  
  
For the first time in a while, Scorpius knew his father’s smile was genuine. “Even then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (tw details: Scorpius is brought into a discussion with his father about a previous incident where Draco talks in a homophobic manner towards Scorpius, specifically Draco saying the Malfoy bloodline will end because Scorpius is gay. It is brought up and discussed between Scorpius and Draco in this chapter.)
> 
> YIKES that was a hiatus for the books. Uh, you guys can thank clevernotbrilliant for telling me she needed a new chapter of this, and thank the Cane's drive thru for being a 45 minute wait last week that I had time to plan this out. And before you ask, yes, this is me picking up this story again, and yes I 'sort of' have an idea of what's going to happen next. If you've stuck with this story and aren't too mad at me for the giant length of time in between, I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter.
> 
> @clevernotbrilliant your move (#dmf)


	10. Find My Way

As far as turn of events go, Scorpius would say his Christmas went surprisingly okay. At one point or another, all of his family came to visit, and Scorpius actually managed to enjoy himself being outside of his bedroom. They went to the Greengrass side of the family on actual Christmas, and Grandma Narcissa baked for all of them on Boxing Day. Even his cousin Teddy stopped by for an afternoon to exchange gifts.  
  
It all felt a bit unreal to sit in a room and not feel loathsome towards his father. Things weren’t perfect, and he knew it wouldn’t be easy, but Scorpius knew his father was ready for the challenge.  
  
And Scorpius was too.  
  
On the Hogwarts Express, Scorpius felt like he was back in an entirely different reality. Oliver and Jia told him and Gil _everything_ about their adventures in Mumbai on their way back, and Gil told them all about how his grandmother tried to sneak pieces of her self-killed turkey into everything she fed Gil. Scorpius thanked them both for the Christmas presents they sent from Mumbai; Jia got him a handmade blue and silver tie and Oliver sent him a book about traditional Indian potions.  
  
At the mention of the gifts on the train Gil went very silent and very red, and Scorpius wondered if something happened at his family’s house. For a horrible second Scorpius had the idea that maybe his grandmother wrapped a turkey head for him or something. He guessed that Oliver kept in touch with him over the break as he didn’t react very much to Gil’s story, so he decided he would ask Oliver that night when Jia wasn’t around to see if he could pry an answer out of his friend.  
  
Scorpius adjusted his new tie as he sat at the welcome back feast and laughed along with another Mumbai story. He had a feeling that Oliver and Jia’s vacation would be the main topic of conversation for the next few weeks; Scorpius was just glad for once it wasn’t about him.    
  
As other shoes usually do, it was right as he was laughing at something Oliver said that Scorpius’ finally dropped.  
  
“Scorpius _fucking_ Malfoy, we need to talk!”  
  
Both Jia and Oliver’s faces mirrored what Scorpius assumed his looked like. A bunch of the Ravenclaws around them were also silent, and Scorpius wanted to shrink into the bench. All three of them turned at the same time to see Albus and Lily Potter marching over towards Scorpius.  
  
Scorpius swallowed his embarrassment and stood as they got to him. A lot of people were staring, but Scorpius ignored them.  
  
“Well, Albus,” he said, so terrified it came out calm, “I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks now—”  
  
Albus angrily tugged his cane out and let it snap into one straight line. “Well I’m ready to talk now, so let’s take a walk.”  
  
Scorpius couldn’t find words to respond to the way Albus was talking to him, so he looked to Jia and Oliver. They were both still with shock. When Scorpius looked back Albus was on his way out of the Great Hall, the crowds of students in the aisle parting for him. Scorpius swore under his breath and chased after him, bumping into the students that reformed their circles behind Albus.  
  
“Albus?” Scorpius called as he broke through the final group by the door.  
  
“So,” Albus said; Scorpius turned to where he was leaning against the wall. He was breathing heavily and Scorpius saw anger in his expression. Before Scorpius could ask what the actual hell his problem was, Albus continued; “I just had a really interesting conversation with my dad before I got on the train. I don’t know why on fucking Earth you decided to tell your dad – who, as far as I can remember you don’t even like – that we were having _relationship problems_ , but he went and told my dad to see if he could help fix things. I almost missed the train having to explain to my dad and mum about why I didn’t tell them I was having relationship problems with _Draco Malfoy’s kid_.”  
  
Scorpius felt many emotions pass through him in a very short time frame as he tried to form an answer for Albus.  
  
First, naturally, there was shock. His dad _talked to Albus’ dad_ about them?  
  
Then guilt. Even though Albus was out, it was whole different story when you finally started dating someone. If Albus wasn’t ready to tell his family and Scorpius played a part in outing that secret to his family, Scorpius felt terrible.  
  
Embarrassment, he couldn’t forget. Merlin’s beard, his dad was trying, but _really, Dad_? Way to overcompensate.  
  
Denial, too. Albus was making it up. This was Albus’ way to get them talking again. Jia could have easily told Rose about Scorpius’ reconcile with his father, and Rose could have just as easily told Albus.  
  
Finally, as Scorpius spoke, the emotion that came out was anger.  
  
“Wow, Albus. Just fucking wow. I knew you were a selfish prick but I didn’t think it was this bad.”  
  
“What? What the hell are you talking about?” Albus asked.  
  
“Not that you give any shits whatsoever about _anything_ that doesn’t revolve around you, but yes, I did talk to my father over Christmas holiday. Not that you’d remember me telling you how my father was a homophobic arse to me for _three years_ after I came out to him – that wasn’t about you, so why would you – but he fucking apologized to me over break.  
  
“And _no_ , Albus, I didn’t ask my dad to talk to your dad about us. I don’t even know why you would _think_ that I would do something so embarrassing.” Tears stung in Scorpius’ eyes, and he wiped them away before Albus could hear the shake in his voice.  
  
When Albus said nothing, Scorpius laughed bitterly. “I thought you wanted to talk, you’re not exactly one to back down from a fight, Albus.”  
  
“You talked to your dad,” Albus said. His voice was softer than Scorpius was ready for. “Merlin’s beard, you talked to your dad about being gay.”  
  
Scorpius huffed loudly.  
  
“I’m such an idiot,” Albus muttered to himself. He lifted his head. “Scorpius, I—”  
  
Scorpius watched the anger lines fade from Albus’ expression and turn to that of worry.  
  
“It’s okay,” Scorpius muttered. He knew if he spoke any louder Albus would hear he was crying.  
  
“No, it definitely isn’t,” Albus said. He twisted his cane in his hand. “I’ve been such a prick to you. I… I was so happy when we started dating; I felt like a normal teenager, like I could actually be someone that someone else had feelings for. I felt like I was more than just Harry Potter’s blind kid.  
  
“And when you offered me that potion… it felt like everything I told myself came crumbling down and was actually a lie.”  
  
After weeks of rehearsing what he would say to Albus, Scorpius finally got his chance. “Albus, I wish I had a Time Turner so I could take it all back. I never wanted you to think that I was trying to change you. I love you just the way you are.”  
  
If Scorpius wasn’t sure of the three little words as he said them, seeing Albus’ expression at hearing them confirmed his feelings.  
  
“I really want you to come over here and kiss me right now,” Albus said, plastering on an infectious smile.  
  
Scorpius laughed and did just that. He kissed Albus with everything he had in him, every part of him that wanted to apologize, every part that wanted to hold onto Albus and never let go. Scorpius kissed him so hard that he pushed him against the wall, only stopping to share a laugh and catch his breath before kissing Albus again. He didn’t care if students were starting to leave the Great Hall; he wanted everyone in the world to know that he was in love with Albus Potter.  
  
When Scorpius finally pulled back, he rested their foreheads together, closing his eyes. He felt Albus’ breath against his wet mouth and heard his own pulse in his ears. Albus shook with giddy laughter and Scorpius followed suit.  
  
“By the way,” Albus whispered, “I love you, too.”  
  
Scorpius answered Albus with a kiss. Many kisses. Albus tried to laugh and Scorpius muffled it with a kiss.  
  
Both boys jumped when a shrill squeal came from behind them. Scorpius turned and stood in front of Albus, who squeezed his arm.  
  
“Finally,” Rose said, laughing as Jia tugged on her arm. Scorpius looked down to where their fingers were laced together.  
  
“Could say the same for you two,” Scorpius said, raising an eyebrow. Rose blushed and Jia buried her face into Rose’s shoulder. “She’s literally had a crush on you since second year, by the way,” Scorpius told Rose. He felt Albus shake with laughter behind him.  
  
“So has Rose,” Albus added.  
  
Scorpius saw both girls open their mouths to retort, and realizing the error of his ways, he quickly intervened. “Where’re Oliver and Gil?” Usually both were somewhere close to Jia.  
  
Jia shrugged. “Gil said something about being third wheels and they wandered off to finish up their Potions stuff. They present tomorrow, so—”  
  
Scorpius sighed. “They’re the last ones to present and I know Nott is going to quiz us right after.” He looked to Albus sadly, touching the hand that was still holding onto his shoulder. “Would you make fun of me if I said I had to go study?”  
  
“Absolutely,” Albus answered. “Is that even a question?” Albus laughed when Scorpius sighed. “I get it. I should get back anyway, Lily was planning on following you to classes tomorrow to plant Dungbombs in with your stuff; I should probably make sure she doesn’t do that.”  
  
“Probably,” Scorpius deadpanned.  
  
Albus laughed and kissed him, and Scorpius gave up every effort to try and be mad with Albus. After Jia was done saying goodbye to Rose, she and Scorpius walked towards Ravenclaw Tower with their elbows linked.  
  
“Do you believe it?” Jia asked him when Albus and Rose were out of hearing distance.  
  
“If I went back to the beginning of the school year and told myself I would be dating Albus Potter and you would be dating Rose Weasley by the first week of January, I think I would have slapped myself,” Scorpius said. “More importantly, though, please tell me all of the details.”  
  
Jia laughed and told her story as they climbed the stairs towards Ravenclaw Tower. Apparently after Scorpius chased Albus out of the Great Hall Rose came over and explained to Jia and Oliver what happened between Albus and his father before the train ride. Scorpius blushed when he realized that meant his two best friends knew about his father talking to Albus’ father. When Rose sat on the bench the opposite way of Jia and Jia realized she was wearing the necklace she sent to Rose from Mumbai, Jia pulled Rose towards her and kissed her.  
  
Scorpius secretly thought his and Albus’ story was cuter.  
  
He waved goodnight to Jia before parting ways towards the boys’ dormitories. Oliver was off with Gil and he saw Matty and some of the other boys sitting around one of the bookcases talking, so he figured he might get a moment alone in the room to finally be excited about Albus in peace.  
  
Albus didn’t hate him. _Albus loved him_. Scorpius didn’t think anything could top hearing Albus say those words.  
  
Inside the sixth-year boys’ dorms, Scorpius shut the door behind him and leaned his head back against it, unable to fight the burst of giddy laughter that bubbled up from his stomach.  
  
“So, I take it things with Albus worked out?” Oliver asked.  
  
Scorpius swore. “I thought you were working on your Potions project with Gil.”  
  
Oliver looked down to his hands and Scorpius frowned at the expression on his best friend’s face. “I… actually wanted to talk to you about that.”  
  
Walking over, Scorpius deposited his wand and cloak on his bed before sitting on the edge of Oliver’s. “Did the final batch work? I know you said you guys were having troubles getting the color perfect.”  
  
Oliver chuckled, and Scorpius suspected he wasn’t actually very entertained. “Not about the potion. Um, so when you left on the train before Christmas holiday, do you remember how Gil asked me to stay back?”  
  
“Uh, no,” Scorpius admitted. He was so focused on getting through the holiday that he hardly even remembered saying goodbye to the pair. “Sorry.”  
  
“It’s fine. So, uh, Gil kissed me after you left.”  
  
Scorpius stared at Oliver.  
  
“And I kissed him back.”  
  
A lot of questions tried to push their way to the front of Scorpius’ thoughts, and he really wished the one that escaped wasn’t the first.  
  
“Does Jia know?” Since all of the drama with Albus started, Scorpius knew he was seriously slacking on being a good friend to Oliver.  
  
He was surprised when Oliver shook his head. “She and Gil are so close, I didn’t want her to say anything to him.” Scorpius’ heart went out to Oliver, having to keep it bottled up through the entire Christmas holiday. He was so preoccupied with his own family’s drama and the drama with Albus he didn’t have time to write to either of his friends even once. Oliver was right there for him when he was going through his own process of coming out, and Scorpius felt terrible that he couldn’t do the same.  
  
“What happened after you kissed him?” Scorpius asked.  
  
Oliver looked down to his hands. “I might have sworn and ran off.”  
  
Scorpius bit his lip. “We’re not Gryffindors.”  
  
Laughter startled out of Oliver. “We are not.”  
  
“Have you talked to him since?” Scorpius asked.  
  
“I sent him a gift from Mumbai and he didn’t respond… he would hardly look at me on the train today,” Oliver said miserably.  
  
“Well, speaking from the point of view of a gay bloke, he probably thinks he misinterpreted things, kissed a straight bloke, and is probably expecting that you’re going to punch him if he tries to talk to you again,” Scorpius said. “Speaking of, Oliver, our token straight friend; I hate to ask so bluntly, but—”  
  
“You can ask,” Oliver said, rolling his eyes. “I’ve asked myself about twelve dozen times over the holiday.”  
  
“And what did you give yourself as an answer?” Scorpius asked.  
  
Oliver thought for a few moments before answering Scorpius. “I can’t stop thinking about him. Like during the match in November I kept getting mad at Meredith and Dee for targeting him. I missed so many passes watching him I think Matty still blames me for our loss.”  
  
“As far as I know about Quidditch, which isn’t a lot, mind, aren’t they supposed to do that?” Scorpius asked, laughing when Oliver gave him an exasperated look.  
  
“And then I would get terrified because, you know, I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like if I just kissed him while he was leaning over our cauldron in class.” A small smile formed on Oliver’s expression and Scorpius bit his lip to hide one of his own. “Needless to say, I’m pretty sure we’re going to bomb this presentation tomorrow.”  
  
“I wonder what Nott would do if you just kissed Gil in the middle of your presentation,” Scorpius said. “I wonder what Gil would say.” Oliver laughed, but Scorpius saw the color in his cheeks darken. “Bloody hell, was that your plan?” Scorpius asked him.  
  
Oliver threw his pillow at Scorpius.  
  
“No, I don’t _actually_ want to fail Potions. Also, don’t tell Jia,” he said as their laughter died down. “I love her but she cannot keep her mouth shut about anything. The last thing I need is her telling Gil before I can figure out what the hell I want to say to him.”  
  
“I won’t tell her, promise,” Scorpius said. “But for the record, I think you should talk to him. He’s probably freaking out and if Jia doesn’t know he could probably use a friend.”  
  
“Thanks, mate. I really am happy that things worked out for you and Albus,” Oliver said.  
  
Scorpius grinned. “Does this mean I can talk to you about kissing Albus without you pretending to be grossed out?”  
  
Oliver made a face at him. “Don’t push it, Malfoy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so humbled by all of your love at the return of this story. You guys are freaking amazing.


	11. eleven

“I’m going to puke.”   
  
“You’re going to be fine.”   
  
“Nope, I’m really going to vomit.”   
  
Scorpius leaned back in his chair and looked at Oliver. They were the only two people in the Potions classroom; Oliver hadn’t been able to stomach a lunch before his presentation on the Elixir to Induce Euphoria, so Scorpius offered to skip with him and help him prepare. Even if it meant missing out on seeing Albus, he knew Oliver was not doing so great after seeing Gil at breakfast.   
  
Oliver was hunched over in his chair and had his face buried in his hands. “I’m going to fail Potions.”   
  
“Do you want to take some of your potion?” Scorpius asked him. He looked up to where Theo was sitting at his desk, pointedly ignoring them.   
  
Oliver turned to him, pushing his dreadlocks out of his face. “Did you see him at breakfast? Did you see the way his teammates looked at me? At least we’ve already lost to them so I won’t get bludgeoned to death when Riggs and Farnley get on their brooms again.”   
  
Scorpius cringed. “It wasn’t that bad,” he told Oliver, hearing how fake his own voice sounded. Oliver narrowed his eyes, unconvinced.   
  
Hufflepuffs were terrifying.   
  
“Right then,” Scorpius said. There was a noise from outside the classroom and Scorpius looked up to see a few of their classmates walking in. “it’s going to be fine. Just follow the directions and don’t forget it’s anticlockwise. You’re brewing and Gil’s talking, so just pay attention to the potion. And hey, if it starts going that badly you could always just snog him over the cauldron.”   
  
Oliver looked up, exasperated. “I’m going to punch your whole face,” he said.   
  
“Why are you punching Scorpius’ face?”   
  
Oliver jumped at Gil’s voice behind them.   
  
“He’s a git,” Oliver said, sliding his bag over so Gil could take the spot next to him. Normally it’d be Jia’s, but she was on the opposite side of the room sitting very close to Rose. Gil looked surprised at the gesture, but sat without hesitation. Scorpius could see Oliver’s tense shoulders and fidgeting fingers out of the corner of his eye.   
  
“Alright, alright,” Theo said a few moments later, standing from his desk. “I know, how sad is it that Christmas is over and we’re all stuck inside until Hogsmeade in February. Luckily, there’s a perfect potion to fix those winter blues. Let’s see if Mr. Rodden and Mr. Davies can help us out. Boys?”   
  
Oliver and Gil both stood from the table and Scorpius gave Oliver a hopeful smile as he carried their cauldron up to the front of the class. Theo traded the boys for their spot, sitting down at the table with Scorpius and shooting him a grin. Gil and Oliver spent a few awkward seconds setting up all their ingredients before Gil started talking.   
  
“Right then, we are going to be teaching the Elixir to Induce Euphoria today. This potion looks pretty simple on paper, but it’s actually a lot more complex than it’s made to be.” Gil turned and looked to Oliver, plastering on a saccharine expression. “Right, Oliver?”   
  
“Uh – right.”   
  
If Scorpius was just a little more of a terrible friend he would laugh. Oliver lit a fire under the cauldron with his wand as Scorpius read along in his book to what Gil was saying.   
  
“The tricky part of this potion – and really, why it’s in  _ Advanced Potion-Making _ – is counting your stirring. With this elixir, you do have opportunities to be creative with flavors and potency, but the stirring is where you have to be straightforward.” Gil looked to Oliver again and waited while Oliver added the first ingredients.   
  
“Right then,” Gil said. “After porcupine quills, it’s six times anticlockwise.” He waited while Oliver stirred.   
  
“And here is where you have a little bit of leniency; a classic modification is peppermint, so that’s what we’re going to show you today. After the peppermint, you’ll want to add the Sopophorous pods—”   
  
Scorpius frowned and looked to his book, reading where it clearly said  _ Sopophorous beans _ . When he looked up, Theo was sitting forward and lifting his hand.   
  
“Boys—”   
  
As soon as the pods hit the potion in front of Oliver the cauldron started bubbling over violently, and before Oliver could stop it, the bubbles started rapidly popping and exploding all over he and Gil. Both of them stood drenched in yellow goop, speechless and frozen.   
  
“I believe you meant to say beans, Mr. Rodden,” Theo said carefully. Scorpius could tell he was trying not to laugh.   
  
“Thanks, Professor,” Gil said quietly. A large wad of botched potion fell from his ear to his shoulder as he turned to Oliver. “Don’t you have the instructions in front of you!?” he hissed.   
  
Oliver turned to him, disbelief plastered on his expression. “Don’t you have your speech memorized!? I thought I was just supposed to do what you said!”   
  
“So, this is my fault?” Gil asked. “Bloody hell, this is great coming from you.”   
  
“Okay, okay, outside, now,” Theo said, rushing to the front of the classroom. Oliver and Gil were up to shouting volume by the time Theo made it to them, and he grabbed both by the potion-covered robes and pulled them out of class.   
  
As soon as the door shut the whole class started whispering. Scorpius looked over to see Jia stepping over the mess of potion on the floor to walk to him.   
  
Scorpius held up his hands as soon as she got to him.   
  
“I have no idea,” Scorpius lied.   
  
Either Jia was ignoring him or heard him and still felt the need to ask. “What the hell just happened?”   
  
“It’s an easy mistake, they just forgot to take the beans out of the pods,” Scorpius told her.   
  
“That is not what I’m talking about, why the hell did those two just get dragged out of class for fighting? Gil is literally in love with Oliver so I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t just start fighting with him for no reason.”   
  
“Gil’s in love with Oliver?” Scorpius asked her, feigning innocence.   
  
Jia shot him an annoyed look. “Oh my god, Scorpius, seriously? It’s so obvious. And tragic, falling for the one straight one in our group.”   
  
“Yeah,” Scorpius said, looking behind her so his facial expression wouldn’t give anything away. “Hey, Rose.”   
  
Thankfully Jia was too distracted by her girlfriend to analyze Scorpius.   
  
“Do you think we’re still going to have a quiz today?” Rose asked them.   
  
“Maybe Nott will just cancel it since we didn’t technically learn how to make the potion,” Jia suggested.   
  
“You know you’re also supposed to be studying everything outside of class, right?” Scorpius said.   
  
He got two equally exasperated looks.   
  
Without supervision, the class got restless and loud quickly. Scorpius looked over to where Albus’ friends were throwing balled up pieces of parchment towards an empty cauldron and cheering when they made it in. He rolled his eyes. Jia and Rose went back to their desks and were openly snogging, apparently unable to wait until they weren’t surrounded by their peers.   
  
For once, Scorpius couldn’t find it in him to complain.   
  
*   
  
_ “Welcome, welcome, Hogwarts students and staff to another dazzling game of Quidditch! Today we’ve got the ravenous Ravenclaws and the spectacular Slytherins going head to head. Will the old green and silver be able to slither-a-win, or will the blue and bronze Raven-claw their way to a victory?” _   
  
“Seriously,” Scorpius said, leaning into Albus. “How on earth did Azid convince them to let him commentate the match?”   
  
Albus laughed next to him. “I don’t think Azid could believe it either. Usually they don’t let house team members commentate. Professor Quibble told him if he insults Slytherin even once he’s losing the privilege for the rest of his Hogwarts career.”   
  
“Shame,” Scorpius deadpanned.   
  
“He’s just happy he has something to do now that Peter and I both ignore him all the time,” Albus said, leaning his head against Scorpius’ shoulder.   
  
Sometimes Scorpius couldn’t believe that this was actually his life. He squeezed Albus’ hand and pressed a kiss to his temple.   
  
_ “And they’re off! Davies wins the tossup with impeccable speed, snagging the Quaffle just out of reach of Monroe’s fingers. Davies rockets down the pitch and launches the Quaffle towards Grey —” _ _  
_ _  
_ “Speaking of Azid, he told me about Oliver and Gil in Potions earlier this week,” Albus said. “Was it actually as hilarious as Azid made it out to be?”   
  
_ “—and just like that, Ravenclaw scores!” _ _  
_ _  
_ All of the Ravenclaws around them started screaming instantaneously. Scorpius though he and Albus might be the only people that stayed seated, and he winced when the stands started shaking with people stomping on the floor. Chants of Oliver and Monty’s names filled the air around them.   
  
“Still think we made the right choice sitting by Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor?” Albus yelled when the cheering died down.   
  
Scorpius leaned close to Albus. “Personally, I think we should have stayed inside and taken advantage of the empty Ravenclaw dorms.”   
  
Albus sat up and tilted his head. “I don’t know  _ why _ you waited until this long in our relationship to make such a brilliant suggestion. When are we leaving?”   
  
Scorpius felt his heart race. He looked down to the rest of their friends before turning back to Albus. “I’ll tell them I have a headache; Jia will believe me because I don’t have my glasses on.”   
  
“Aw, I like when you wear them,” Albus said.   
  
Scorpius rolled his eyes. “You can’t even see them.”   
  
“Yeah but I like knowing that you look like even more of a nerd than normal,” Albus told him. “It makes me more attracted to you.”   
  
Scorpius thought about all of the headaches he could have avoided if Albus would have told him  _ that _ sooner.   
  
“You’re ridiculous,” Scorpius said fondly, grateful Albus couldn’t see how red his cheeks were. “Your nerd boyfriend is about to lie to all of our friends so we can go make out, so play along.”   
  
It was a lot easier than Scorpius thought to convince Jia and Rose that he had a headache and he and Albus were just going to go hang out in the Ravenclaw common room; everyone was mesmerized by the Quidditch in front of them, something Scorpius would  _ never _ understand.   
  
Scorpius held tight to Albus’ hand as they pushed their way through the crowd of Ravenclaw students. His heart was hammering in his chest and he felt like his hands would be shaking if he wasn’t holding on to Albus so tight.   
  
Once they were clear of the stairs, Scorpius pulled Albus off the path and under the wooden beams of the Quidditch stands.   
  
“Detour,” Scorpius explained, turning around in front of Albus. Before Albus could ask, Scorpius kissed him under the pounding of their classmates’ feet, the echoing voice of every play, and with all of the love he could possibly give the boy in front of him.   
  
“Ayy, get it, Malfoy!”   
  
Scorpius felt Albus jump at the same time he did. When Scorpius turned, face undoubtedly crimson, Elias Corner was giving him the biggest shit-eating grin. Behind him, Jerried West from Hufflepuff was scrambling to hide something behind his back. Rolling his eyes, Scorpius pulled Albus away and towards the castle, ignoring Albus’ delighted laughter.    
  
Albus squeezed Scorpius’ arm as they continued on the worn path towards the castle. It felt like here was electricity buzzing through the air at the thought of sneaking off to be alone with Albus. It was a rarity at Hogwarts. Scorpius walked them through the front doors and into the empty castle.   
  
“Have you ever been in the Ravenclaw common room?” Scorpius asked. “Stairs.”   
  
“Thanks,” Albus said, stepping up at the same time Scorpius did. “And no, only Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.”   
  
“How did you get into Hufflepuff?” Scorpius asked.   
  
“Back in fifth year when Peter and Gil were a thing,” Albus said. “I wanted to talk Peter into stealing their furniture and trading it for Gryffindor’s, but he wouldn’t.”   
  
At the top of the stairs Scorpius answered the riddle to the Ravenclaw and helped Albus through the passageway. Unfamiliar with the new place, Albus stuck close to him.   
  
“What does it look like?” Albus asked quietly.   
  
Scorpius looked around at the area he’d grown so fond of over the years. “It’s big, open.” He looked up. “The ceiling is like the one in the Great Hall.” When he looked back down Albus had his eyes closed, a small smile forming. “It’s very quiet in here while everyone is at Quidditch. Normally the room doesn’t echo so much.”   
  
Albus chuckled. “Take me to one of the couches, I want to see if they’re better than Gryffindor’s.”   
  
“What about Hufflepuff’s?” Scorpius asked, walking towards the fireplace.   
  
“This is for second place, nothing will beat Hufflepuff.”   
  
Scorpius chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t want to hinder your research,” he said as he sat down. Albus sat too, and Scorpius turned and tucked his feet under him to watch Albus’ assessment.   
  
“I mean, I wasn’t expecting much,” Albus said, squirming around.     
  
“I mean,” Scorpius mocked, “I guess if you wanted to sit here and compare the couches instead of going up to my empty dorm—”   
  
Albus scrambled to stand. “Lead the way, Malfoy.”   
  
Scorpius laughed, ignoring the way his heart thudded in his chest at Albus’ use of his last name. It felt like it was an entire life ago that Albus would only refer to him by his surname. Now, it felt like something to be treasured, something that made his heart beat so much faster. Scorpius also stood and leaned in close to Albus. “Right this way,  _ Potter _ ,” he whispered, lips close to Albus’. When Albus moved forward Scorpius pulled back, and laughed at Albus’ groan as he guided him towards the dorms.   
  
The staircase was narrow and spiraled, and Scorpius felt his nerves start back up again as they walked the winding steps. On the outside, he wanted to show Albus that he was as confident as him, but on the inside he was nervous. Albus was his first everything. He opened the door and exhaled slowly when he saw the empty room. And his empty bed.   
  
“Scorpius, hang on,” Albus said, stopping in the doorway. “Your hand is a lot sweatier than normal.”   
  
Scorpius’ cheeks felt like they were on fire. He chuckled, embarrassed. “I am the epitome of romance.”   
  
Albus tugged his hand. “We don’t have to do anything,” he said softly, and after a moment, he smiled. “I am kind of nervous, too.”   
  
“If you’re nervous then there’s no hope for us,” Scorpius said, smiling when Albus laughed. Scorpius pulled Albus’ hand, leading him through the room and towards his bed. He sat and Albus copied him.   
  
“How many people share with you?” Albus asked, breaking the silence.   
  
“There are five of us,” Scorpius said, looking around the room. “Matty Kingston, Bruce McGregor, Elias, and then Oliver and myself”   
  
“So, what actually happened in Potions with Oliver?” Albus asked, smirking.   
  
Scorpius laughed. “Lover’s quarrel, apparently. They both got detention for fighting in class.”   
  
Albus wasn’t as surprised as Scorpius thought he’d be. “I wondered if that was going to be a thing.”   
  
“Apparently, everyone except for Jia and I did too,” Scorpius said. “Don’t say anything though, I don’t think Oliver has figured out what he wants to say to Gil yet.”   
  
“My lips are sealed,” Albus said. After a beat, he grinned. “They could totally be persuaded open, though.”   
  
Rolling his eyes, Scorpius said, “and I’m the nerd.” Before Albus could retort, Scorpius leaned over and kissed him. His hand shook as he reached over and rested it on Albus’ cheek, pulling Albus closer. Albus’ fingers twisted in Scorpius’ robe as he pushed back with equal enthusiasm. Outside the window of Ravenclaw Tower Scorpius could hear the faint sounds of the Quidditch match, but inside none of that mattered. All that mattered was Albus trusting him enough to lean back on Scorpius’ bed and Scorpius shifting so Albus was under him.   
  
“Is this okay?” Scorpius whispered, pressing a chaste kiss to Albus’ jaw.   
  
A breathy chuckle escaped Albus’ mouth, that Scorpius felt on his cheek. “I’m having an awful time,” Albus joked.   
  
Scorpius moved back to Albus’ mouth. “This is terrible,” he kissed Albus. “Absolutely awful.” Another kiss. “I’d rather be watching Quidditch.”   
  
He felt Albus laugh under him, which did not help the situation going on further down the bed. “Well  _ now _ I know you’re lying.” Albus lifted his head up and chased Scorpius’ mouth, and Scorpius exhaled sharply against his mouth when he felt Albus’ similar situation. The thought of  _ that _ happening to Albus because of him had Scorpius lifting himself up on his knee to put some space between them.   
  
For now.   
  
From outside, Scorpius heard an exceptionally loud round of cheering, and sat up to listen. He could hardly make out what Azid was shouting, but the word  _ Snitch _ was all needed to hear. After quick, separate visits to the loo connected to the dorms, Scorpius took Albus’ hand and brought him back to the Ravenclaw common room, after snagging his Herbology textbook.   
  
From their spot pretending to study in the Ravenclaw common room, it was immediately apparent who won by the first wave of students that came in screaming happily. No one paid any attention to them as the Ravenclaw common room went from quiet and empty to full and booming in a matter of moments.   
  
Scorpius draped his arm over Albus’ shoulder, pulling him closer. “Do you want to go back to Gryffindor?”   
  
Albus reached up and squeezed Scorpius’ hand. “Let’s see, go back to Gryffindor and listen to Azid complain about why Jennie West won’t acknowledge him, or stay and crash Ravenclaw’s Quidditch after-party? I don’t know…”   
  
“Hey, guys!” Jia, Rose and Gil squeezed onto the other half of the couch. Jia was grinning knowingly, and Scorpius kissed Albus’ shoulder to try and hide a smile of his own. “How’s your headache, Scorpius?”   
  
Scorpius tapped his glasses. “Better, thanks.”   
  
Jia rolled her eyes. “Well, make sure you congratulate Oliver. He’s pretty much the reason Bruce got the Snitch.”   
  
“What happened?” Albus asked. Scorpius looked to Gil to see him looking to his hands and trying to hide a smile of his own. He wondered how much persuading Jia had to do to get him to tag along. From what Oliver told him, their detention was a completely awkward affair of cleaning old cauldrons in the dungeons in which Gil didn’t speak.   
  
He wondered if this was how Oliver felt when Scorpius used to talk about Albus.   
  
“Oliver had the Quaffle when Bruce and Allyson Wallace were dead even or the Snitch, and he threw it at Ally so Bruce could get ahead,” Rose explained.   
  
“Is that legal?” Scorpius asked.   
  
Rose shrugged. “It worked.”   
  
A burst of cheering rang out through the room as the Ravenclaw team entered. A giant crowd of people rushed them, so Scorpius sat back into the couch with Albus and watched them. Bruce was in the center of everything holding up his Snitch triumphantly, and Oliver was right next to him, Bruce’s arm draped over his shoulder. Matty was ecstatic, joining in the chanting of the crowd around them.   
  
Scorpius looked to Gil again and bit his lip. Gil was watching Oliver with a sad smile.   
  
“You should go talk to him,” Scorpius said to Gil.   
  
Gil’s face blanched. “He told you? Wait, of course he did.”   
  
“Told him what?” Jia asked, leaning around Rose.   
  
Gil ignored Jia. “What should I talk to him about? Leading me on and then freaking out after I acted on it?”   
  
“Acted on what?” Jia asked, struggling to sit forward.   
  
“He panicked,” Scorpius said, defending Oliver.   
  
“Will someone please tell me what the hell happened?” Jia said.   
  
“Gil kissed me,” Oliver said, surprising all of them, “And I kissed him back, and then I freaked out and had an extensional crisis and questioned my identity over the entire Christmas holiday, and spent the last week trying to figure out how the hell to tell him I want to do it again.”   
  
Oliver looked terrified, but he refused to look away from Gil. Gil stood from the couch, holding the eye contact just like Oliver.   
  
“So tell me now.”   
  
Oliver took a step forward, put his hand on Gil’s cheek, and kissed him.   
  
Cheers instantly erupted around them, as they usually did with endorphin-filled post-Quidditch confessions of a romantic nature, and Scorpius grinned as Oliver and Gil broke apart to laugh. Oliver rested his arms on Gil’s shoulders and pressed their foreheads together.   
  
Scorpius didn’t think anything could top the moment until he looked at Jia. Her expression was riddled with shock and disbelief, and Scorpius burst out laughing.   
  
“Miss a few signs?” Scorpius asked her knowingly.   
  
Jia peeled her eyes away from their best friend. “You  _ knew _ !?”   
  
“Oh my god, Jia, like everyone knew,” Scorpius said, imitating her. Albus and Rose both laughed at her expense.   
  
“Didn’t you see the way we, like, stared across the Great Hall?” Oliver asked her, finally looking away from Gil.   
  
Jia crossed her arms and flopped back into the couch, and Scorpius left Rose to comfort her. Oliver went back to kissing Gil’s face off, so Scorpius pulled Albus back against him. Albus leaned his head against Scorpius’ and Scorpius wrapped his arms around Albus’ waist.    
  
The party raged around them for a while, but Scorpius was perfectly content where he was, smashed in the couch with all his favorite people right by him. And even though it wasn’t an easy journey for any of them, Scorpius was glad they all found their way together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I ever think I would get to the point that I would get to write an 'end of story' note on this project? I had a lot of doubts, but here we are! I feel like there are A LOT of people I need to thank for helping me through this, and there isn't any way I'd be able to remember everyone. I do, however, want to thank clevernotbrilliant/clairevergreen, because she was a HUGE help in making me pick up this project again after I left it abandoned for so long, and for naming like 90% of my Quidditch players. If you're looking for something to read next, please do yourself a favor and check out her author page.
> 
> I don't think I'm ready to say goodbye to these characters just yet, so definitely keep an eye out for some bonus content in the future. I'll probably announce it on my HP tumblr (bansheehp.tumblr.com) if I do end up writing anything else! I'm always up for chatting about this story and any of my other ones. 
> 
> And of course, thank you so much for reading and supporting this story!
> 
> Julie


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